


Fool’s Gold

by Ocean_Oasis



Category: Room of Swords (Webcomic)
Genre: Adorable, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Normal High School, Alternate Universe - School, Alternate Universe - Teenagers, American Football, Angst with a Happy Ending, Best Friends, Boys In Love, Bullying, Canon Gay Relationship, Canon-Typical Violence, College Football, Coming of Age, Denial, Domestic Fluff, Drama, F/F, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Falling In Love, First Love, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Funny, Gay, Gay Panic, Gay Pride, High School, How Do I Tag, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Idiots in Love, Inspired by Music, Jock Kodya, Last Love, Love Confessions, M/M, Memes, Multi, Party, Prom, Protectiveness, Room of Swords - Freeform, School, Slow Burn, Stereotypes, Sylvia is a babie fight me, Teen Romance, Teenagers, True Love, Vines, someone please give Kodya a fucking hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:09:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 26,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23462998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ocean_Oasis/pseuds/Ocean_Oasis
Summary: High school is bullshit.No one is free from the peer pressure and the horrors that come with growing up,not Gyrus, who’s been bullied for years,not even Kodya, who’s the school’s golden boy.So when Kodya offers to be Gyrus’s fake boyfriend in hopes to make life any more survivable, what does he have to lose?OrThe Strawbarrow fake dating fic that no one asked for!
Relationships: Gyrus Axelei & Kodya Karevic, Gyrus Axelei/Kodya Karevic
Comments: 47
Kudos: 77





	1. Oh My God They Were Roommates

**Author's Note:**

> These characters are not mine, they belong to the webtoon “Room of Swords” and this is a work of fan fiction. I take full credit for the plot and storyline but almost nothing else. 
> 
> There may be some original characters but none of them are main characters in the story. 
> 
> Gyrus’s character personality is a mix of the “old Gyrus” and the “new Gyrus” and Kodya is a little less cold here because this is how I imagine he’d be if he wasn’t betrayed by someone he loved and if he were in a high school environment. 
> 
> All characters are 18 years old and of legal age. 
> 
> This story has curse words, violence, some sexual content and some sensitive topics. 
> 
> Please be informed and do enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m going to put some songs I recommend that I listened to while I write the story before the chapters! 
> 
> “broken” by lonelytheband

Gyrus was sleepy drawing little doodles on his notebook. Instead of taking notes, he was filling the page with planets, stars and anything to do with space. At the beginning he drew the solar system with the orbits and all. Though eventually he let his imagination wonder far so he created a few other planets for fun. 

He smiled at himself as he drew a boy with green hair in an astronaut suit. The universe was such a never ending vast concept. It provided comfort for him to know that since he couldn’t find a place to fit in on earth maybe he’d be able to find one somewhere else. 

“It’s too early for this.” Gyrus groaned under his breath as he struggled to stay awake in class. The professor’s lecture was slowly being tuned out as his vision blurred and his eyes threatened to close. 

“Hey.” A voice whispered in his ear making him jolt awake. “Astrobutt, wake up.” 

Gyrus groaned. “Just because you want to stay awake so you can thirst over all these famous female icons in history doesn’t mean I have to too, Tori.” 

“It’s not my fault they’re all so beautiful.” Tori defended. 

“Ha,” Gyrus teased her with barely open eyes. “You’re so gay.” 

“As if you’re any less gay.” She chuckled and hit his head. 

She was a tough girl. She always gave Gyrus vibes of a knight in shining armor ready to protect her queen. Tori’s future girlfriend will be really lucky. Gyrus laughed weakly and rested his head on his hands in an effort to fall back asleep. 

Tori wasn’t having it. She snapped her fingers next to his ear making him jolt awake and drop several of his pencils. 

She clicked her tongue at him. “Why’re you so sleepy anyways?” 

“I was reading this book.” He lied, he read the book but not last night. “It’s called “We are the Ants” and I think I can relate to it more than I should.” 

“It’s about a boy that gets made fun of for believing in aliens. He’s been mistreated by everyone and he’s slowly losing the people he loves, starting with his boyfriend who committed suicide. He realizes that we’re all just tiny tiny creatures in this ever expanding world and we barely even matter. The world is ending and he’s given the opportunity to just push a button and save the world. The thing is: he doesn’t know if the world is worth saving.” Gyrus explained dully. 

“You’re so fucking emo.” Tori sighed and patted his shoulder. “Is the world worth saving, Gyrus?” 

“I don’t know.” He said. 

“Well I think it is.” She smiled. “Because if the world ends that’s it. It’s the end. If the world keeps going then there’s always a possibility for something new.” 

“I guess you’re right.” Gyrus weakly smiled at her. “God why’re we getting so deep into the meaning of the universe, it’s not even noon.” 

The two of them laughed a little too loud making the professor shush them. They immediately sat up straight and pretended to stop talking. Though the second the teacher turned away they went back to laughing. 

Class finally ended and the students piled out of the room. 

“Come on Gy.” Tori nudged him as she stood up to get her stuff. 

Gyrus groaned and buried his head in his arm. “I don’t wanna stand up, let me sleep.” They were the only two people left in the classroom. 

Suddenly a familiar pink haired girl poked her head in the room. She wore a simple green crop top, matching shorts and a toothy smile on her face. 

“Hi guys!” Sylvia smiled. She was a transfer student. She became their friend last year when she moved schools. She comes from a very small and backwards town so she isn’t good with English or technology but she’s still quite street smart. She got herself a full ride through college with her sports scholarship for wrestling. 

“Hi!” Tori smiled and Gyrus offered a weak wave. 

“What’s wrong with strawberry?” Sylvia frowned. She wasn’t the best at pronunciation so she gave them nicknames of words she could actually say. 

“He’s lazy and doesn’t want to leave.” Tori complained. 

“I’m sleepy.” He groaned. “Just leave me alone.” 

“No.” The two girls said at the same time, making him sigh. 

“Come on! You know how cranky Syl gets when she’s hungry.” Tori said and as if right on queue Sylvia’s tummy grumbled. “Do you really want to unleash that monster?” 

Gyrus was running off 2 hours of sleep; he couldn’t bring himself to care. 

“That’s it.” Sylvia said. She grabbed Gyrus and threw him over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. 

“Shit!” Gyrus screamed in fear. “Put me down!” 

“No.” She said sternly. “Tori get his stuff please.” 

The other girl did while laughing her ass off. Once they got everything the two of them walked out. 

“Sylvia put me down!” Gyrus was burning bright red from the embarrassment. 

“Stop squirming, we're almost at the cafeteria.” She laughed and patted his back. 

Gyrus covered his face in his hands. _God it’s only the first day of the school year and I’m already making a fool of myself. I hate my friends._ He said to himself. Though he didn’t mean it. He loved these two idiots very very much. 

—————

The hallways were empty save for the sound of hurried footsteps. The bell for the period rang five minutes ago and yet Kodya was still running through the halls. His hair was messy and his papers were flying out of his backpack as he desperately tried to catch them. 

Kodya was on the varsity football team so speed was on his side. He’s been playing sports since he was a kid. His parents constantly signed him up for many lessons growing up. Being the only child of this school’s very own high school sweethearts set the bar pretty high for him. His mother was the prom queen and his father was the quarterback. Even the teachers expect good things to come from the child of their golden couple. Kodya has been living up to the hype, star footballer, straight A student, junior prom king and top of the social food chain. 

He was losing his breath as his worn out sneakers slid across the skinny floor when he made a turn into a different corridor. 

The lady at the front desk had given him the wrong schedule. When he realized it wasn’t his name on the paper he immediately went back to get his right one. It turned out that his class had already started. 

Kodya cared a lot about first impressions. It was his last year and he wanted to make it count. He couldn’t let anyone down. 

“171!” He could see the classroom up ahead. He made one final sprint and accidentally opened into the door loudly. The whole class turned their heads towards him and he stood up straight and tried to act formal. 

“You’re late.” The professor said blankly. 

“Sorry sir.” Kodya said seriously. “There was a mix up in my schedule.” 

The teacher seemed unconvinced but let him sit down anyway. Kodya sat down on the chair that his friend had reserved for him and sighed because he was really tired. 

“Kody are you okay?” Nephthys asked.

“Just ran from the other side of the campus to here.” He said in between pants. “I’m fine just-“ he inhaled- “let me catch my breath.” 

She nodded and let him be for a bit. Though she noticed a flash of something painful and dark in his eyes. She wanted to ask him about it because she was concerned but knowing Kodya he probably wouldn’t tell her. 

“Okay.” He said with one loud exhale. “I’m good.” He flashed her his golden boy smile. 

She smiled back at him and tried to mask her worry. “We’re on page 111.” 

He nodded in appreciation and tried to listen to class. 

—————

Luckily Gyrus only had one class left that day. He already finished his science homework in his free period so he could finally just sleep. 

“Hey battery!” A voice shouted behind him in the empty hallway. 

_Shit._ Gyrus cursed to himself as he tried to walk faster. He knew that voice all too well. 

Regan was a tall and muscular built girl. She was authoritative and commanding. That was just a nice way of saying she was a self absorbed bossy bitch. A few years ago in the midst of some mess Gyrus could barely remember, Regan had made him choke on a battery. Ever since then she not only tormented him but also had convinced most of the school to call him "battery" and make cruel jokes whenever they saw him. 

She was getting closer and Gyrus started running. _I just want to go back to my dorm._ He begged the universe. 

Unfortunately, she caught up and knocked him down on the floor. Gyrus was quite short so he was held at a disadvantage. He tried to scramble back up but Regan kicked him in the stomach making him topple back over. 

She laughed evilly at him. “Haven’t seen you since last school year. How’ve you been?” Gyrus was smart enough to not answer the question. 

He was grabbed by the neck and brought up so much that only the tips of his toes could touch the ground. His vision blurred as he was being suffocated. 

“We have a lot of catching up to do.” She smirked as she brought her hand back and balled it into a fist. 

—————

Kodya flopped onto his bed. It was already late because he had football practice and had just gotten out of the shower. He lazily dried his hair with a towel and slipped on a red sweater over his abs. His grey sweatpants were a bit wet because he forgot to dry his legs but he didn’t bother to do anything about it. 

He eventually had to get up and unpack his stuff since they all just moved into the dorms today. The rooms weren’t that bad. They all looked the same with white walls and a wide window. There were two double beds, a bathroom, a little kitchen and a big multipurpose table. There were a few shelves and one big closet with a divider. It was actually pretty luxurious. (Perks of being in an elite school.) 

Kodya’s roommate hadn’t gotten back yet. The lady mixed up his documents by accident too so he didn’t even know his name. 

Though his roommate had already unpacked his bags on the bed on the right. His books were kept in a neat pile on his bed but his clothes bag was nowhere to be seen. He had a big poster with planets and stars next to his bed. 

_He seems nice_ . Kodya thought to himself. _Very neat. I hope he won’t be annoyed by me. I’m not exactly the most organized._

The door clicked open and Kodya turned his head to see who was there. 

He knew this boy, Gyrus Axalei. They had a few classes together over the years. Though he always seemed to try and stay away from Kodya for some reason. 

His green hair was mixed with his red blood dripping down it. His cheeks were bruised and his lip was bleeding. His yellow NASA shirt was ripped with red blotches on it and his backpack slung sadly over his shoulder. Gyrus looked like he was about to collapse any second now. 

“Are you okay?” Kodya’s eyes softened as he tried to take a step closer to help him. Though the second he moved forward Gyrus moved back. “Can I take you to the hospital?” 

Gyrus put up a fake strong exposure. “I’m fine.” He said as he went to sit down on his bed. 

Kodya pulled out a medicine kit from under his bed and made his way to kneel in front of Gyrus. 

_Why does he have that there?_ Guys wondered before the thought slipped away when Kodya put his hand on his cheek to inspect his wounds. 

The green haired boy tried to move away but Kodya stopped him. He moved his face so that he’d look in his eyes. “Hey,” Kodya said, “I’m here to help okay? I don’t mean any harm. So please just let me.” 

Gyrus was too tired to protest so he let himself fall into the boy’s care. 

Firstly he got a wet towel to wipe the dripping blood off his hair. He cleaned it gently till the bright green was free from any stain. He got a different towel and gently cleaned his face and arms. His touch was so soft that Gyrus wanted to fall apart. 

Kodya poured the disinfectant onto a cotton bud. “This might sting a bit.” He warned as he carefully dabbed it onto the open cut on his cheek. Gyrus hissed in pain. “Shhh it’s okay it’s okay.” Kodya’s voice was smooth and kind so the other finally calmed down. 

He finished cleaning all the wounds on his face and he left them to dry for a bit. “Are you hurt anywhere else?” 

Gyrus shook his head “No,” but when Kodya tapped his side he jerked away and hissed in pain. 

Kodya clicked his tongue at his stubbornness and tugged on the hem of his shirt to try and take it off. Gyrus blushed red and crossed his arms over his chest like a child. 

_Cute._ Kodya smiled to himself for a second. _Wait what the fuck did I just think-_

Well Kodya knew he was gay he just usually didn’t have thoughts like those for anyone, specially not people he just met. 

“Please.” Kodya offered his iconic smile. 

Gyrus gave in and lifted his arms up so Kodya could slide the ruined shirt off his body. He was actually pretty toned but big purple bruises covered his stomach and here was a cut on the side. 

Kodya went on and gently tended to his wounds. He put his hand on his thigh to balance himself and his touch brought a surge of warmth through Gyrus. 

He took bandages and gauze out of his bag but Gyrus stopped him. “It’s fine I usually cover them with make up anyway.” 

Kodya frowned at him disapprovingly. “No. These wounds are too deep. You might get them infected.” He wrapped gauze around the cut on his shoulder and around his stomach. He put a bandaid on his cheek and on all his other small cuts. Kodya gently slipped on one of his shirts on him. It was a white shirt so Gyrus looked tiny in it since he was a few sizes smaller than Kodya. He slipped off his pants and tended to the cuts and bruises over his thighs, knees and legs. 

Finally Kodya was done. “Thank you.” Gyrus said sleepily and shyly. 

“No problem.” Kodya chuckled and affectionately ruffled his green hair. “I’m Kodya.” He offered his hand. 

Gyrus smiled back at him and weakly shook his hand. “Gyrus.” 

The two locked eyes and smiled for a second before Gyrus tried to stand up, only to be greeted by a sharp pain. 

“What do you think you’re doing?” Kodya said in disapproval. “You need to rest.” 

“I’m fine,” Gyrus lied _again._ “I have a science paper due tomorrow and it’s been destroyed so I need to make a new one.” 

“No.” Kodya said. 

_Why is everyone saying that to me today?_ Gyrus internally groaned. 

“But-“ 

“No.” Kodya said sternly and fixed him so that he was lying down on his bed. He pulled the blanket over Gyrus and gently rubbed his cheek to soothe him. “You’re not in the state to be doing anything. Go to sleep.” 

Gyrus was about to protest once again but he knew he wouldn’t be able to win this one. “Okay.” 

Kodya smiled at him when he finally closed his eyes. He stood up to leave but Gyrus grabbed the hem of his sweater. 

“Thank you.” He said sleepily, making Kodya’s heart warm. 

“No problem.” Kodya smiled and gently removed his hand so he could sleep properly. 

So many thoughts and questions raced through Kodya’s mind. _What happened to him? It seems like someone beat him up. Is he being abused? bullied? Is this a normal thing? Why was he already ready to cover it up with makeup? Is Gyrus okay?_

He decided that he’d clear things up in the morning. For now he let Gyrus rest as he cleaned up the mess.

  
  



	2. A Fairytale But Shitty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was inspired by "Brazil" by Declan McKenna

Sunlight creeped through the window and lit the room up. The gentle shine lingered on the green haired boy’s face for a bit before he stirred out of sleep. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. 

_ 6 AM _ . His alarm should go off any second now. He turned it off before he had to hear that annoying sound again. 

He took a moment to just shake off his drowsiness.  _ I haven’t slept that well in a while.  _

He smiled softly to himself before he yawned and stretched his arms out only to be greeted with an ache from all his bruises. 

“Good morning.” Kodya smiled from the other bed across the room. He looked like he just got up a few minutes ago. 

“Morning,” Gyrus replied dully. 

Last night was a weak moment for him. Gyrus never asked anyone for help and the first person really had to be Kodya Karevic. Of course Gyrus knew all about him. Everyone at Room Of Swords Academy knew him. He’s so perfect the school won’t stop reminding everyone that they’ll never match up to him. He was the prom king and everyone else was merely supposed to be a servant, a background character in his great narrative. Gyrus made it a habit to stay away from people like him. 

Kodya noticed the coldness in his voice. “How’re you feeling?” 

“Fine.” 

“Are you sure because you seem a bit stiff an-“ 

“I’m fine!” Gyrus snapped and finally turned to face him. 

Kodya was a bit taken back by how harsh he was. He didn’t really know what he did wrong. He decided to get up and not bother him anymore. 

He got a box from the shelf and started getting a bunch of ingredients that he bought. 

“What’re you doing?” Gyrus asked. 

Kodya chuckled at him. “Making breakfast. I hope you like pancakes.” 

Gyrus fell silent as his heart softened. No one ever did something this nice for him before. Half of him was rolling his eyes thinking “ _ okay does he need to emphasize how perfect he is”  _ but the other half couldn’t help but feel good. 

With great struggle, Gyrus managed to stand up so he could stay in the eating area. When he sat down he saw a full paper with his name on it that he had no recollection of writing. 

He picked it up and read through it. Yup, he definitely did not make this. Though it was a really good paper. Everything was backed up by facts and provided such a deep analysis with so many new perspectives. Gyrus was impressed. 

“Did you write this?” He asked in a small voice. 

“Yeah,” Kodya said shyly. “Is it good l? I tried my best.” He was looking at him like a hopeful puppy that Gyrus couldn’t help but smile. 

“It’s really good.” Kodya’s eyes lit up at his words. He smiled back and went back to fixing breakfast. 

A while later Kodya came over with two plates of adorably stacked pancakes with syrup, butter and strawberries. They looked delicious. Gyrus took a bite and tried to hide his awe. 

Kodya smiled to himself as the other happily munched down the pancakes. 

“This is the best food I’ve had in years.” Gyrus said with his mouth full. 

Kodya couldn’t help but try and find some hidden meaning behind his words. “I’m glad you like it!” 

They sat in silence for a while as both of them were internally conflicted on what to say next. 

“Why’re you being so nice to me?” Gyrus finally asked. He was looking at him like Kodya just grew a second head. 

“What do you mean?” Kodya asked. 

“This!” Gyrus pointed at the food. “And-and you helped me last night and wrote my paper and even let me wear your shirt. I-I don’t understand. Why?” 

“Why don’t you understand?” Kodya was still confused too. 

“Because!” Gyrus seemed to search his brain for an answer for a bit. “People like you aren’t supposed to be nice to me.” 

Kodya’s emotions battled within him. “You really believe in the stereotypes huh?” Gyrus didn’t respond; he just looked down. “Well then looks like I’ll have to prove you wrong.” 

Gyrus couldn’t bring himself to say anything else.  He just sat there and ate his pancakes. 

Kodya desperately wanted to ask about last night. He wanted answers. He wanted to know if there was anything he could do to help. Though he knew that based on the way Gyrus has been acting he probably won’t be getting any answers out of him. 

When they were done eating Kodya stood by his side and held out his arm. “Come on it’s time for me to tend to your wounds.”

Gyrus was still silent as he accepted his hand and let him lead him to the bed. 

As Kodya went on to carefully take care of him, Gyrus couldn’t help but notice so much about him. 

The way his long brown hair looked so soft. The way he’d bite his lip when he was concentrated. The way his eyes were wide and gentle making Gyrus feel oh so special. 

_ Not gonna lie he doesn’t look that bad.  _ Gyrus thought to himself.  _ I mean I get why everyone fawns over him all the time not that I do or anything.  _

Gyrus was very stubborn so he just kept telling himself that he’s only accepting his help because he doesn’t have any choice. He won’t let himself be tricked by his false kindness only to have this turn into another hero story for Kodya. 

_ I’m not dumb. I see what he’s doing.  _

Kodya eventually looked up at him and flashed him a kind smile. Gyrus couldn’t help but smile back. It was barely there, like a twitch of his lips, but Kodya saw it. 

—————

Gyrus pulled the hood of his black hoodie over his head and kept his eyes focused on the floor. He tried his best to fade into the crowd like he always did. He didn’t want to see Regan because obviously Gyrus would like to save himself from even more injuries. He didn’t want to see his friends because he didn’t have enough strength to explain to them what happened. He knew he’d have to eventually when they met up for lunch but that was a problem for later. Things seemed to be going smoothly as he didn’t run into anyone he knew.

“Gyrus!” Kodya shouted from across the hallway. 

_ I spoke too soon.  _ Gyrus internally sighed. He tried to go on walking like he didn’t hear him but Kodya was able to catch up. 

“Hey,” he smiled as he put his hand on Gryus’s shoulder. Gyrus jerked away out of impulse making Kodya frown. Though that frown faded away when Gyrus sighed, stopped and turned around to look at him. 

“Yes?” Gyrus asked, barely looking up at him. 

“You forgot to put a bandaid on the cut on your cheek.” Kodya noticed that the wound had been covered by make up. “Gyrus,” he frowned. “it might get infected.” 

“It’s fine I do this all the time.” He said dismissively. Gyrus noticed that people were staring and whispering. They were probably wondering  _ who’s this nobody talking to Kodya Karevic _ . Gyrus wondered the same thing. 

Kodya put a hand on his shoulder stopping him from walking away. 

More people were starting to look. The whispers were just getting louder and Gyrus wanted to disappear. 

“If I take the bandage will you let me go?” Gyrus asked. 

“You need to clean off the makeup too. It’s counterproductive to your healing.” 

“Fine,” Gyrus sighed and Kodya beamed. He handed him the badge and Gyrus walked away. 

“See you later!” Kodya smiled and waved. 

Gyrus tried to shrink, hoping that people would stop noticing him. “Bye.” His voice was barely audible as he turned to another hallway. 

Kodya smiled to himself while watching the other slowly disappear into the crowd. 

In the bathroom Gyrus was gently washing off the make up. His ugly red cut started becoming more visible making him hiss. He took the little package out of his pocket and he smiled as he looked at it. 

He quickly caught himself and wiped the smile off his lips. He ripped apart the package and carefully put the bandage on his cheek. 

He looked at his reflection in the mirror and sighed. He traced his finger along the edge of the bandage and fought the urge to smile again. 

As much as he tried to deny it, he didn’t hate being taken care of like this. He didn’t hate the attention Kodya gave him. 

And he hated that he didn’t. 

—————

The bell for recess rang and the empty hallways started to fill up. Kodya and his friends managed to get many classes together. The school really favored Kodya and it showed. 

They walked out of the room happily laughing. Anan headlocked Kodya and led him out of the classroom with Feather trailing behind. 

She rolled her eyes at them. “Men.” 

“Hi babes!” Nephthys smiled happily as they met in front of Kodya’s locker like they always did. Regan stood beside her and offered them a cocky smile. Nephthys kissed their cheeks happily. She was from the Netherlands so that’s how she greets her friends. Nephthys was bubbly and happy all the time so the affection didn’t bother any of them. 

“Let’s go?” Regan asked and nudged her head in the direction of the cafeteria. 

They all walked through the hallways as everyone parted for them like the Red Sea. In the eyes of a passerby it would look like they were moving in slow motion. They were like high school superstars. 

To them Feather was like a super chill popular girl. So many people wanted to be her friend without realizing that they  _ could _ if they tried. 

To them Anan was the class clown  _ and  _ the ladies man. He was a vibrant jock with a charming personality. He developed feelings easily but also moved on easily. Though the girls didn’t stop falling head over heels for him. 

To them Regan was a boss. You either feared her or respected her. Being student Council Vice President gave her quite a lot of power and she ruled with an iron fist. 

To them Nephthys was the school’s sweetheart. She was kind and sweet and seemed to gain the title ‘the hottest girl in the school’. Boys wanted her and girls wanted to be her. Many people assume that she and Kodya would date. They’d make the perfect power couple. After winning junior prom queen alongside him even the teachers expected them to be like Kodya’s parents. 

Last but not the least, Kodya. To them Kodya was the image of perfection. He was royalty. What else is there to say? Everyone already knows all they need to know about him right? 

“He’s so hot!” A girl fawned when she got a glimpse of Kodya. 

Tori rolled her eyes as she watched it all go down. “You all act like they don’t go to the same school as us and you don’t see them everyday.” She scoffed to herself. 

There were maybe only two people in this school that didn’t get the hype. That’s how Gyrus and Tori became such close friends. It was nicer to say “fuck you” to the high school monarchy with someone than alone. 

Sylvia was just too naive and kind to hate them. Tori especially has taken upon the responsibility to protect her from people that want to take advantage of her small-town-big-heart. 

Tori spared them one last eye roll before walking away to find Sylvia. 

As the group of popular kids made their way into the big lunchroom all eyes seemed to be on them. Every table was taken up except for their usual one. 

“So,” Nephthys smiled as she sat down next to Kodya, “how’ve you guys been? We didn’t get to really eat lunch together yesterday.” 

“Yeah sorry bout that,” Anan rubbed the back of his neck. “this cute girl asked me to eat lunch with her.” 

The whole table let out a collective groan. 

“What?” Anan asked. 

“Come on dude,” Kodya said. 

“It’s been two days and you’re already fawning over a new girl!” Nephthys said. “What happened to the last one?” 

“Yeah,” Rgan said. “What’s-her-name, the one with the scooter.” 

Anan opened his mouth but no words came out. They all teased him because he couldn’t even remember her name. “I-I know it starts with an E! or a J. or a B or a- yeah I don’t know.” 

They all burst out laughing. 

“So Kodya,” Anan said with a teasing smile, “when’re you finally going to get yourself someone?” 

“Yeah. Almost everyone here is willing to date you,” Feather said. “All you need to do is pick!” 

They all went on to tease Kodya now. 

He chuckled nervously. “Come on guys it’s the first day of school.” 

“But you know almost everyone here! Someone has to have caught your eye.” Nephthys sighed, really desperate to be able to finally play matchmaker for her best friend. 

Kodya hurriedly looked for a way to change the conversation. He suddenly saw the bruises on Regan’s fist. “Regan what happened?” 

They all followed his gaze and looked at Reagan with confusion, fear and concern. 

“Oh it’s nothing,” she said, taking a bite out of her sandwich, “just needed to teach someone a lesson.” 

They were all still confused but they decided to drop the topic. Someone brought up another topic but Kodya couldn’t bring himself to pay attention. 

—————

“Hey,” Gyrus said as he walked up to his best friends. They were both smiling at him until he looked up and they noticed how beaten up he was. 

“Who did this to you?” Tori asked as her eyes glowed with rage. Even Sylvia looked like she was ready to get into a fight. 

“It’s nothing guys!” Gyrus tried to calm them down. “Nothing happened.” 

“That’s not nothing.” Sylvia said. 

“Gyrus you need to tell us what happened.” Tori’s voice was demanding yet caring at the same time. 

“No,” Gyrus snapped at them, “I don’t need to tell you anything.” 

“Please Gyrus.” Sylvia flashed him her irresistible puppy dog eyes. 

He groaned at their stubbornness. “Fine!” 

“On the way to my dorm,” he swallowed hard, “I saw a stray cat and picked it up so it scratched me and I ended up falling down the stairs because I got surprised.” 

There was a beat of silence before the two girls burst into laughter. 

“ _ That’s _ what you were trying to hide from us?” Tori asked in disbelief. 

“It’s embarrassing, okay!” Gyrus pouted as they kept laughing. 

“Oh Strawberry-” Sylvia slung her arm over his shoulders, her body weak from all the laughing- “you’re so clumsy.” 

“Yeah yeah whatever.” Gyrus chuckled. “Let’s just get lunch.” 

They walked to the cafeteria as the two kept making jokes about Gyrus’s accident. 

Gyrus felt a pang of guilt in his heart. He didn’t want to lie to his friends but he really had no choice. Knowing them they’d probably confront Regan and get themselves in the same situation as he was in. He couldn’t subject his friends to that. He’d never forgive himself if someone he loved got hurt because of him. Plus, the call out would mean extra attention on him and that’s the last thing he’d want. 

When they sat down at the table the girls were still laughing at him when suddenly Kodya and his group passed behind them. 

They were far across the room but Gyrus made eye contact with the other by accident. 

“Hi!” Kodya mouthed as he waved at him. 

Gyrus didn’t wave back. He just sunk in his chair and looked down. 

His friends noticed his actions and turned around to see a frowning Kodya looking at him. 

“Why is Mr. Popular waving at you?” Tori raised her eyebrow. 

“Did you make a new friend?” Sylvia beamed. She’s been pushing Gyrus to make more friends for a while now and she was hoping her convincing worked. 

He chuckled bitterly as he watched Kodya walk away. “No we aren’t friends. He’s just my roommate.” 

Tori’s jaw dropped. “Your roommate is Kodya? As in mr-so-much-better-than-you-Kodya? As in perfect-prince-“

“Yeah yeah yeah I’ve heard enough of the titles.” Gyrus waved his hand dismissively. “Yeah he’s my roommate.” 

“I’m surprised the school didn’t room him with one of them. So what’s it like?” Tori asked. 

“Well he keeps trying to talk to me. He helped me with my wounds and made me breakfast. I hate to admit it but his pancakes were amazing.” Gyrus said honestly. He lied too much to his friends for one day. 

“He seems nice,” Sylvia said. “Why not be his friend? He seems to want to be yours.” 

Gyrus raised an eyebrow at her. Sylvia’s naiveness was adorable but she couldn’t be  _ that _ blind. 

“Honestly Gy I’m with Sylvia on this one,” Tori said. “It pains me to say so but maybe there’s more to golden boy than we think.” 

“Have both of you gone mad?” Gyrus asked. “You can’t seriously think that that’s a good idea.” 

“Why not?” Tori asked. The thing about her is when she took a side she was so fiercely loyal. He knew she wouldn’t back down from this anytime soon. “I know we hate the high school social pyramid but just because he sits at the top doesn’t mean he’s a bad guy. He hasn’t done anything bad to you has he?” 

“No,” Gyrus grumbled. 

“Has he done anything good to you?” Tori asked. 

Gyrus sighed. “No.” 

“Then why not try and get along with him?” Sylvia asked. 

“Imagine high school being like Little Red Riding Hood,” Gyrus said, “in their perspective our school’s reputation is the girl, people like me are the wolf and people like them are the huntsmen. We destroy and kill our school’s reputation because that’s just the foul beasts we are. Though the huntsman comes in, kills the wolf and saves the day! They justify their evil actions by using people like Kodya to be ‘huntsman’ to make them seem like heroes.” 

“When in reality these “losers” are little red riding hood and they’re the wolf. There is no huntsman because no one will come to help. They’ll just pray on us and rip us apart just for the thrill of it. So what’s the lesson of the story? Stay the fuck away, from anyone. People like Kodya can seem nice at the start but I’ve learned to not take the risk. They’re all just wolves in sheep’s clothing and no one can hurt you unless you let them.” 

Neither of them could argue with his logic. 

“Look Gyrus,” Tori said. “I know you know what you’re doing but do you really just want to live with a stranger for the rest of the year?” 

Gyrus shook his head. 

“All I’m saying is, don’t close yourself off completely okay? Give huntsman a chance! You don’t even need to make an effort just try and stop resisting,” Tori said. 

“Plus,” Sylvia said. “you’ll be getting free breakfast everyday!” 

“Fine.” Gyrus could never get his way could he? “Don’t expect much okay. I  _ might  _ just be less of an asshole to him. Happy?” 

“YAY!” Sylvia cheered and crushed him with a tight hug. “Strawberry’s making friends!” 

All Gyrus could do was sigh and wonder how he always got talked into doing these things he didn’t want to do. 

  
  



	3. Emotions? How About No

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Cough Syrup" by Young the Giant and "Sweet Talk" by Saint Motel

The loud sound of the whistle rang through the open field. It was the start of the second week of school and the football team was already training hard. All the boys stopped their training and huddled with the coach. 

“You all did mediocre, at best,” he said coldly. “If you want to bring honor to this school and win us the season then you’re going to have to work a lot harder.” 

They all seemed to bow their heads in shame. 

“Take Kodya here.” At the mention of his name, the boy jerked up and stood straight like a soldier. “I can tell that he’s been training all summer  _ and _ he’s been doing extra work. If you all want to stand a chance you better step up like him.” 

Kodya didn’t know what to do. Was that a compliment? Should he thank him? He chose to just stay silent. 

The hard faced (and obviously toxic masculine) man took a while to scream at them. Apparently this was a coach's version of encouragement. 

With one last final cheer, they all ran to the changing room. They scattered off into mindless chatter as they got out of their gear. 

“Man this coach won’t let us catch a break will he?” A junior said to his friend. 

“Yeah,” the friend chuckled bitterly, “it’s even worse now that we’re being compared to Kodya Karevic.” 

“Isn’t that the guy that scored more than half the team’s points in last year’s finals?” His friend nodded. “Fuck! The bar’s set to high man!” 

“It is,” he said, “It’d be a lot easier for us if he just stopped being so showy. What’s he trying to prove anyways.” 

Kodya tried to ignore their voices but they just got louder and louder. He managed to get all of his gear off before his body started shaking. 

_ Breathe.  _ He reminded himself. 

Though he couldn’t seem to move his limbs. His shirt was clenched in his fist and his body was trembling. 

“He’s too arrogant. Trying to show us all up and earn the coach’s favor already.” 

“What a pathetic suck up.” 

“I heard he’s been taking drugs.” 

“That’d make sense. How else could he keep up all this energy?” 

Their voices filled Kodya’s ears like a high pitched ring. They seemed to fade away yet intensify at the same time. Kodya couldn’t escape. 

It was obvious that these boys were just talking out of their asses. Their words were non factual and random. They were just saying whatever they could to fix their bruised egos. 

Kodya seemed too blinded by his emotions to see that. 

“So turns out he’s just a fake weak motherfu-“ 

“Hey Kodya!” Anan smiled as he slid in front of him, cutting off the sound of their voices and bringing him out of his haze. “You okay there?” 

Kodya quickly tried to compose himself. “Yeah I’m good!” He smiled. “Just thinking about my English homework.” 

“Ahh golden boy, at it again.” Anan smiled. “Anyways I was planning to hit the cafeteria for a late night snack with the boys. Wanna come?” 

“Nah I’m good,” Kodya said. “I’m going to go running for a while.” 

“You just trained! Aren’t you tired?” 

“Not really,” she shrugged. “Have fun though.” Kodya pulled his shirt over his head, grabbed his stuff, patted Anan on the shoulder and walked away. 

It seemed like Anan wanted to follow him. He seemed to be trying to reach out to his friend both physically and emotionally as unspoken questions and concerns died in this throat. He opened his mouth to say something but closed it and walked away. 

—————

Gyrus roamed the empty halls one again and stifled a yawn. He wasn’t able to sleep very well and it was starting to affect his studies. He slept all the way through his first period so he got detention. 

It didn’t matter anyways. His record was the least of his worries and his relatives don’t really mind him anyways. 

His mom and dad died in a car accident when he was just a baby. He never had the chance to miss them because he never really knew them. Some of his relatives were kind enough to take him in. 

They weren’t bad. They fed him, gave him a place to live, sent him to school but they never felt like family. 

They felt like caregivers, providers, guardians 

but never family. 

They didn’t ask him about his day or about how he was feeling. They probably didn’t know Gyrus’s favorite song or his pet peeves. Gyrus couldn’t blame them. They already did so much for him that he couldn’t ask for more. It’s not like he was making an effort either. 

He didn’t mind. He didn’t really need a family anyways. 

Though from time to time he’d wonder what things would’ve been like if his dad just chose to drive down a different road, if his mom wasn’t too busy talking on the phone to realize the car zooming their way or if the ambulance arrived just a few seconds earlier. Maybe he would've been happier. Maybe he would not have been as closed off as he was. Maybe things would've been better. 

Gyrus didn’t pay that much attention to those thoughts. They didn’t matter anyways since they’re just maybe’s. 

In reality his parents are dead and there was nothing he could do about it. He was okay with it. 

It gave him the freedom to do whatever he wanted. Not that he wanted to do much. He just wanted to survive school and go to space. It helped that they never noticed his scars or expected him to be home on the weekends. 

He set foot into the cafeteria and the loud voices of the nearby jocks broke him out of his daze. 

They were all man spreading and covered in sweat. On their table messy burgers and soft drinks were spread out. They talked with their mouths full and had food all over their hands. 

Gyrus internally scoffed at them. 

_ That explains why all my friends are girls.  _ He said to himself.  _ Their brains seem so roomy. They don’t seem smarter than a homoerectus. The name seems to match since they’re always just thinking with their dicks.  _

He noticed that Kodya wasn’t sitting with them. Well it was to be expected as team captain to be out with the team. (To boost morale or some half-assed excuse to party. Gyrus never really cared to know.) 

Ever since he said he’d ‘try’ and be nicer to Kodya he hasn’t really been living up to his word. He’s nothing if not consistent. 

Usually by this time Kodya would be at the dorm. He’d send Gyrus a message saying that he got dinner and by the time Gyrus arrived it would be all set out on the table. He’d already have showered and he’d greet him with his usual (‘annoying’) smile. Gyrus would practically ignore him the whole time, keeping his answers plain and simple, but God, Kodya was persistent. He’d keep asking him about his day or about anything really. Eventually Kodya would just go on and ramble about a story or this new show he watched. Gyrus would never admit it but he kind of enjoyed listening to him talk. 

He looked up from the ground (he looked down while walking; he didn’t like unwanted awkward eye contact) at the exact moment that a familiar brunette turned his head to look at him. 

They all but moved in slow motion as their eyes met for a split second before Kodya continued his run. For some reason Gyrus couldn’t bring himself to move after that. 

_ Why the fuck is he running? I know he’s a gym rat but that’s a whole new level. He usually doesn’t do this. There’s no game coming up soon so why would he be training harder. Why didn’t he go with his ‘friends’? What is he doing? _

Gyrus decided those are questions that he could ask later (or not.) Instead he kept walking and tried his best to go unnoticed by the rowdy group at the table. 

—————

_ Gyrus?  _ Kodya could clearly make out the boy’s vibrant green hair even from far away. The familiar face made him smile. He would’ve changed his course to run to him but the boys captured his attention. The two juniors that were talking about him earlier were laughing with Anan and Kodya could’ve sworn he felt his heart drop. 

He ran away from the place even faster and continued to circle the school. The place was practically empty with only the street lights showing his path. He didn’t bring his earphones today so he was stuck listening to his heavy breathing and the sound of his shoes tapping on the hard floor. 

Kodya wasn’t really sure where he was going but that didn’t seem to slow him down. He just kept running and running and running. 

He thought that if he tired out his body that his brain wouldn’t be able to think either. He didn’t want to think. 

He didn’t want to think about the way that the two boys jumped to conclusions about him, the way that they probably hate him without even knowing him. He didn’t want to think about the fact that his supposed-to-be-best-friend was hanging out with them right now. He didn’t want to think about the fact that they could be talking about him behind his back. He didn’t want to think about the fact that everyone in this school could possibly hate him; he could be disappointing everyone and he wouldn’t even know. He didn’t want to think about the fact that he’s probably going to fuck up one way or another. He didn’t want to think. 

So he kept running. 

His heart was starting to beat so fast that the sound flooded his ears and shook his brain. He was gasping for air and his body burned from the overexertion. Though he didn’t stop. He couldn’t stop. 

He just kept running away from his own thoughts until his body finally gave in and he fell onto the concrete floor. 

The second his body hit the floor and his lungs gasped for air desperately, his mind started working again. Suddenly all the horrible thoughts that he tried to block out came rushing onto him like a tsunami. His heart burned as he was forced to face his own emotions. 

His anxiety clouded his mind as his body shook. _I’m_ _Pathetic. I can’t even run without making a mistake. How’m I supposed to lead a team? If I can’t lead my own team how’m I supposed to be the school role model. I’ve been late to class already. That’s not going to look good on my record. What’ll mom and dad think of that? How’d they’d feel when they realize their son is a fucking disap-_

“N-no.” Kodya said with a broken voice. He pushed himself up to stand on his unsteady feet. Every inch of his body was screaming at him to stop pushing himself so hard but Kodya didn’t seem to listen. 

He picked up where he left off. His movements were sloppy and his form was off. It didn’t seem like he was exercising anymore. It seemed like he was desperately running to escape from something that was chasing him down the pathway. 

—————

Kodya was ready to fall apart once he reached his room. His shirt was covered in sweat and his body was too tired to even move. He sloppily unlocked the door and all but collapsed into the room. 

“Woah, you look like shit,” Gyrus said bluntly. His words were harsh but his voice was laced with soft and kind intentions. “Are you okay?”

Kodya gave him a half hearted chuckle. “Yeah I just trained a bit too hard.” He made his way to plop himself down in front of the table. He realized there was a plate of food right in front of him. 

“You got dinner?” He asked as a small smile pulled at the edge of his lips. 

“Yeah,” Gyrus said shyly as he took a seat across him. “I saw you running and I assumed you’d be a bit too tired to get food and you’d be hungry when you got back.” 

Kodya couldn’t resist smiling. It almost hurt to smile since his whole body was strained but that didn’t stop him. “Thanks.” 

“You’re welcome.” 

He pulled the plate closer to him and realized that Gyrus had a plate set out for him. It was untouched. 

“How long have you been here?” Kodya asked. 

Gyrus hummed. “Maybe about half an hour. Why?” 

The burnette’s smile widened. “You waited for me.” Gyrus’s face flushed pink as he looked away. “You could’ve eaten without me and just left the food out but you didn’t. You didn't know what time I’d be home. You wanted to eat with me.” 

“Shut up.” Gyrus tried to act cold again. “It’s rude to make assumptions.” 

“Am I wrong?” Kodya said cockily. 

Gyrus fumbled with his words. “You’re welcome.” 

Kodya chuckled happily as he looked across at the blushing boy. He hadn’t seen this side of Gyrus before. He liked this very much. 

“Thank you.” 

They started to eat once Gyrus had stopped blushing. (He kept denying that he was but there was really no other explanation for his pink cheeks that made him look even more like a strawberry.) Conversation was light. Though this time it was less one sided. Kodya still talked more but Gyrus seemed to actually be making an effort to reply. 

“Are you sure you’ve never seen my hero academia?” Kodya said with his eyes filled with disbelief. He was midway explaining the whole storyline in very very good detail. They’ve already been over this but Kodya didn’t seem convinced. 

“Sorry I’ve never heard of it.” Gyrus shrugged. 

Kodya still didn’t seem to believe it. “But you look like God created you inspired by Mydoria!” 

“What’s that supposed to mean? How do you know he’s not inspired by me.” Gyrus joked. 

“No way,” Kodya said semi seriously. “Midoriya Izuku is a fucking og. I love him so much he’s amazing.” 

“You’re really passionate about this aren’t you?” Gyrus asked teasingly but Kodya noded wildly making him laugh. “So tell me what comes next with totoboki. I like him.” 

“ _ Todoroki _ .” Kodya pouted. “Get his name right!” 

“Sorry sorry,” Gyrus laughed. 

Kodya’s frown quickly shifted to a smile as he went on to tell the story. His voice was filled with so much passion and emotion that it captivated Gyrus. He could finally understand why he was usually the center of attention. 

He wouldn't admit it but he liked listening to him talk. 

He wouldn’t admit this either but Gyrus was enjoying having a conversation with him. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is turning out to be more of a slow burn then expected oop-  
> don't worry the fake dating will happen heheheh 
> 
> Who do you guys ship with Tori? A part of me ships her with her queen and another part ships her with Nephthys. I wanna create some side plots so please tell me your sideships! 
> 
> Also does anyone here like bnha heheheh? I love it! I feel like if I made Gyrus less soft and more angry this could be a Kiribaku fic with Kirishima as Kodya and Gyrus as Bakugo HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHH


	4. A Brief Inquiry In The Mentality of Plastic Highschool Girls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "She Will Be Loved" by Maroon 5  
> Mess Is Mine" by Vance Joy 
> 
> Also Since Tori's Queen wasn't given a name in this story her name is Queen. If her real name is to be revealed I'll make it her second name.

Tori smiled at her phone like a dumb giddy teen. (Well that’s what she was but we don’t talk about that.) On it was a picture of a cat surrounded by hearts and glitter emojis. It wasn’t something that Tori usually liked until today. 

_Have a nice day Victoria~_

She’s probably been staring at that message for half an hour now. It wasn’t like her to be so affected by little things but this was Queen she was talking about, her Queen. Ever since the day Queen met her, broken, evil, rundown, she hadn’t left her side. Queen changed her life. She was the one that gave Tori a reason to live. 

She promised herself that she’d protect her with her life

and she did. 

Tori protected her when there was a horny boy trying to harass her on the bus. She pushed her out of the way when she almost got hit by a man on a motorbike (and went on to cuss, scold and scream at him for his recklessness.) She made sure she wasn't skipping meals again. She constantly asked her how she was. She made her feel safe. 

Until one day, Queen was diagnosed with an unknown sickness. 

That day Tori was just smiling and walking to her house like she did almost every day. In between her fingers she gently caressed a teal colored flower that matched the color of her Queen’s hair. She picked it up on the way there because it reminded her of her. 

As he got closer to the house the sound of sirens got louder. Worry filled her gut as she started running to get there sooner. She arrived there at the exact same time that she saw Queen being carried onto the ambulance. Her eyes were screwed shut and she wasn’t moving. 

The little flower slipped through her fingers and fell onto the road to be run over by the ambulance.

Queen hadn’t left the hospital since that day. 

Because of the lack of knowledge of her illness, they don’t allow any visitors besides her family. Tori wasn't even allowed to see her through the glass. 

She’s felt empty since that day. It wasn't fair. They were supposed to start highschool together. Tori would walk her to class everyday. She’d somehow be popular and have all the eyes on her but they wouldn't matter, all that would matter was that Tori’s eyes were on her. Even if she was popular Tori would still be her best friend above all. They’d laugh about stupid jokes and stories. Queen would teach her how to dance and fix her up for prom. They’d be roommates and Tori would make her breakfast and pack her lunch. They’d have late night study dates but end up getting distracted anyways. Tori would pick her more flowers and stay by her side through it all. 

None of that ever happened though. Queen was barely able to walk and eat. Her stamina was lessening by the day and it became harder for them to text so Tori would cherish every little message she got like it was the most precious thing. 

When Tori entered highschool she was angry at the world. Living just seemed to be a reminder that she didn't really feel alive without her. That’s when she met Gyrus. Gyrus was equally as bitter at high school and the world. Their relationship started as a comfort crowd and a pity party. 

Until eventually Tori started calling him astrobutt and he playfully hit her arm; they became friends. 

When Sylvia met them and joined their little league of losers it just sealed the deal. These three were some of each other’s first and best friends. 

With one more loving smile Tori put her phone in her bag. 

From across the long hallway she saw two familiar faces walking her way. 

Gyrus was wearing a grey nasa shirt, black jeans and an unusually bright smile. She didn’t think she’s ever seen that look on her friend’s face. His eyes were locked on the other as if no one else was around. Kodya had his hair fixed in a messy bun and anyone could practically hear the fondness in his voice. 

People were staring at the duo. Gyrus would usually duck his head and avoid the attention but today it didn't seem to faze him. Kodya was going on about his favorite My Hero Academia ship. (“God Kodya you’re such a fucking nerd.” “Says the guy that practically sleeps in books.”) They both seemed happier than Tori could ever remember. 

With one more cocky smile and one more hit on Kodya’s side the two parted ways. Before Kodya could turn into the hallway he shouted “see you!” making Gyrus turn his head and roll his eyes fondly. 

“So I see you’re finally starting to open up to him.” Tori smiled knowingly. 

“Good Morning to you too Tori,” Gyrus chuckled. 

“Don't avoid the subject.” The two walked to their first class. “Well it's about time! You two have been roommates for what, more than a month now?” 

“Yeah.” Gyrus tried to act nonchalant but he wasn't able to hide his small half smile. 

“I’m glad you’re making friends.” 

“Fuck, you sound like Sylvia.” They both laughed. 

“Well it's true!” she said. “Just don't go replacing me okay? You can't get rid of me that easily, astrobutt.”

\----------

“Why has God forsaken me!” Kodya whined as his shoulders slumped. His schedule was wrong once again. After taking Spanish for more than a month he suddenly found out that that wasn't even his class. He had to go all the way to the front desk and ask it to be fixed. Luckily, this time the teacher was nice enough to give him a pass so he wouldn't be recorded late. At least he didn't need to run this time. 

After a meeting with the principal so that he could apologize to Kodya for the mixup, they decided that they’d just let that spanish class be extra credit. 

“This is the class you were supposed to be attending,” the lady explained and handed him the paper.

“Drama class?” Kodya said in confusion. “Ma’am are you sure this is the right one?” 

“Yes. It’s a requirement for your course.”

“Oh,” Kodya wondered what his father would think of this. It took him a while to accept that he’s gay but that didnt mean he wouldn’t flinch everytime Kodya made a comment about how attarctive a boy was or be against Kodya doing anything stereotypically feminine. Theater wasn’t exactly going to be his favorite thing.

“Thank you!” He smiled at her before walking to the right class. The hallways were practically empty because everyone was already in class. Kodya didn't rush and let himself catch a breath. 

When he turned down the hallway his heart suddenly stopped. 

Gyrus was there on the floor, completely disheveled. His nose was bleeding and blood tainted his white teeth. He was desperately clutching his stomach as he coughed blood onto the once clean floor. His cheeks and arms were covered in purple and red. His bruises from last time hadn’t faded yet; he just got better at covering them up. 

Kodya immediately kneeled down next to him. Gyrus visibly tensed as the tears poured down his cheeks. “Shhh it’s okay it’s okay.” Kodya whispered gently. He faked calmness so Gyrus wouldn’t panic. “It’s just me. I’m not going to hurt you.”

Gyrus’s eyes were barely open as he tried to make out the blur of colors in front of him. “K-Kodya?”  
  
Kodya felt like he was going to fall apart any second when Gyrus’s weak and trembling hand reached up and gently traced the outline of his jaw. The green haired boy offered him a broken smile because he was genuinely happy to see him. 

“Yeah it’s me. I’m here and I’m not going anywhere,” Kodya said as he wiped a stray tear off his cheek. “I’m taking you to the hospital.”

“No,” Gyrus said weakly. “Please, j-just take me home.” 

Somehow Kodya knew that he wasn’t talking about his aunt’s house. 

His pleading eyes were full of hurt that Kodya couldn't help but agree. He gently scooped the smaller boy in his arms. He carried him bridal style and close to his body as he stood up.

Gyrus couldn't stop himself from snuggling into Kodya’s strong chest. For the first time in a while he felt safe. 

Before he even realized it he was being placed down gently on the familiar blue sheets. Kodya helped him take off his shoes and his bloody shirt. Kodya took out the first aid kit and got to work.   
  
This had become a routine for them. Some days Gyrus would come home all wounded and Kodya would help him clean his wounds. They’d usually do it in silence and the next day Gyrus would simply thank him and refuse to answer any questions about what happened. 

Though this time it seemed different. For the first time Gyrus was crying. His salty tears streamed down his cheeks and mixed with his blood and his eyes were filled with so much pain that went past the physical level. His gentle sobs filled the room and he hiccuped over his words. It seemed like he was trying to say something but Kodya wanted him to calm down first. He usually seemed sotic and emotionless but this time he was trembling and breaking apart right in front of Kodya’s eyes. 

Kodya was already done cleaning his wounds but he wasn’t done getting him to calm down. 

“I-I don’t wanna-” _hiccup-_ “be here a-anymore.” He sobbed. Kodya was sitting on the floor and he leaned so he could rest the upper half of his body on the bed next to him.

Kodya gently ran his hand through his hair and tried to soothe him. Gyrus’s hand was harshly clutching onto the blanket so Kodya carefully intertwined their fingers. He whispered sweet nothings as Gyrus’s breathing slowly went back to normal. Though Gyrus’s hold on his hand didn’t loosen. 

It seemed like Gyrus had already fallen asleep. Kodya sighed in relief and gently brushed his fingers through his hair before trying to stand up. 

“Don’t!” Gyrus jerked as he held on even tighter to Kodya’s hand. “Please stay.”

His lavender eyes were so full of desperation that Kodya’s heart seemed to shatter. “Okay,” he whispered as he sat back down. Gyrus pulled his hand closer to him as he started to fall asleep again. 

Kodya couldn’t help but stare at Gyrus from this angle. His bright green hair framed his face making him look even more like a work of art. He had many cute features like his long eyes lashes and his small nose. His mouth seemed to be curled down in a frown and his eyebrows were furrowed. 

Kodya carefully put his free hand on Gyrus’s cheek as he squeezed the hand that was holding his. “You don’t need to be afraid anymore. I’m here. Everything’s going to be okay. I promise I’m not going to leave you.” 

His voice was trembling gently as he spoke. “Nothings going to hurt you, not while I’m around.” 

It hurt him more than he could describe to see Gyrus like that. It felt like he had received every punch, kick and slap that Gyrus did ten times. His heart ached so much that it was physically impossible for him to hold back his tears. 

Though when Gyrus’s features relaxed and a small smile played on his lips as he slept, Kodya was finally able to put himself at ease. 

\----------

The sun had already started to set when Gyrus woke up. The whole world was tinted with the gentle golden color from the sun that seeped through the curtains of their room. 

When he started to regain consciousness he noticed a warmth surrounding his hand and a dip in the side of the bed. He looked over to see Kodya sleeping on the floor with his head on the bed in the same position Gyrus remembered him being in earlier. 

Their fingers were still intertwined making a surge of comfort rush through Gyrus. His injuries were starting to make him feel sore all over but he couldn’t bring himself to move because he might wake up Kodya. 

As he looked up at the roof all his negative emotions threatened to fill his mind once again. There was no way he’d be able to avoid the conversation with Kodya this time. What was he going to say? How could he possibly tell Kodya that one of his best friends has been abusing Gyrus for years? Would he even believe him? 

A soft groan interrupted his turmoil. Gyrus turned to lie on his side to watch Kodya gently stir out of sleep. He wiped his hands over his sleepy eyes and his mouth was set in a permanent pout. 

His worries seemed to vanish when he looked at him. 

“How’re you feeling?” Kodya asked, still clearly dizzy from waking up. 

“Fine,” Gyrus said plainly. 

“Hm,” Kodya hummed. “That’s a lie.” 

_He got me there._ “My legs feel like they’re gonna break any second now and it’s hard to move one of my arms.” 

“You’ve got a lot of bruises and you were coughing up blood. I inspected your body and I don’t think any bones are broken. Your ankle might be twisted though,” Kodya said. 

The green haired boy groaned. 

“Gyrus,” Kodya said as he shifted to look at him straight in the eyes, “I know you keep avoiding the subject but you need to tell me what’s going on. You can’t keep doing this to yourself. I just want to help you.”

He looked at him with so much concern that Gyrus knew he couldn't harden his heart any longer.

“I’m being bullied,” he said plainly. 

“By who?” A spark of anger filled Kodya but he tried to suppress it to not alarm the other. 

Gyrus opened his mouth and closed it before he could let out anything more than a peep. “I can’t tell you.” 

Kodya shifted up, getting ready to protest but Gyrus stopped him. “Who it is isn’t important. I’ll tell you everything you need to know. This person has been bullying me for years. They’d find me in between and after classes when no one is around. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because I’m weak and easily susceptible to this. Maybe to them I’m asking for it-” 

“Don’t,” Kodya said sternly, “don’t you dare say that okay? None of this is your fault.” 

Gyrus took a moment to stare at him. He looked heavenly. Kodya really lived up to the hype. His hair fell from his ponytail and framed his kind and sweet face. The golden setting sun peaked from the window and decorated his face making him practically glow. 

A small smile tugged at his lips. “Okay.” 

“Anyways, no one else knows about this. I haven't told Tori or Sylvia and I don’t plan on telling them.”

“Why not tell a teacher?” Kodya said.

“My bully is the teacher’s pet, they’d never believe me. Even if they did I doubt they’d do much,” Gyrus said. “I’ve just learned to live with it.” 

“You shouldn’t have to,” Kodya said. 

Gyrus sighed. “What other choice do I have?”

Silence filled the air as Kodya desperately tried to think of some way out of it. Gyrus wanted to tell him not to bother because he didn’t care anyway. He wanted to tell Kodya that he just needed to survive long enough to graduate and get to space. Though something stopped him from doing so. _Is that even true anymore?_

Kodya let go of his hand and he frowned at the loss of warmth. Before he could say anything Kodya moved him so that he was sitting up against the headboard and his legs were crossed. 

Kodya got on the bed, kneeled in front of him and took his hands in his. 

“Be my boyfriend,” Kodya said. 

“WHAT?!” Gyrus exclaimed and tried to pull his hands away. “Where did that even come from?! How does this even have to do with my bully? You can’t just say something like that out of nowhere-”   
  
Kodya shushed him. “Wait let me finish my plan. Let’s _pretend_ to date so that we become the school’s ‘it’ couple. That way whoever your bully is will stay away from you because we’ll have the school on our side.”

_Oh._

_OH._

“That’s a horrible idea!” Gyrus exclaimed. “Not only will that mean I have to have so much unnecessary attention on me but I also need to deal with the wrath of your never ending fangirls!” 

“This is highschool, everyone changes their mind quickly. All we have to do is perform some super sweet and super extra charade of me ‘asking you out’ in front of the school and they’ll all cheer when you say yes and BAM! instant fanbase. Plus, the extra attention will mean that people are watching over you making it harder for the bully to get you alone. The fangirls will either turn into our fans or be destroyed by them. They don’t even really like me, they’ll just follow the trend.”

“Huh,” It didn’t seem too bad. “You’re a lot more street smart than I gave you for Kodya.”

The other chuckled shyly at the compliment. “So do we have a deal?”

What did Gyrus have to lose? “Sure.” 

_This wasn’t a horrible idea, right?_

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The fake dating has started! Let's wonder if things will go as planned or not.


	5. When Worlds Collide

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Safety Pin" by 5 Seconds of Summer  
> "Everybody Talks" by Neon Trees  
> "Loser" by Julia Moon

_ This was a horrible idea.  _

Gyrus was fidgeting nervously at the sleeves of his red sweater. He actually tried to put effort into the way he looked today. 

After about a week of careful planning, today was the day. Kodya was going to ‘ask him out’ in front of everyone. 

_ Holy shit I can’t believe we’re actually going to do this. There are so many ways this could go wrong.  _

“Are you allight?” Sylvia poked his side. 

“Am I what?” Gyrus chuckled at her cute mistake. 

“It’s  _ alright  _ Sylv, with a  _ r.  _ We’ve been over this, remember?” Tori explained. 

It took a few moments for the pink haired girl to remember. “oh yeah! Thank you! I won’t forget this time. Okay okay. So- are you alright?” 

“Yeah,” he said. 

“Are you sure because you’ve been twitching and your cheeks are all red.” Tori said. 

“Yeah I’m just nervous. Everyone in my class has to give an individual speech in class later. It’s stressing me out,” he lied. 

“Remember what they say Strawberry,” she said enthusiastically, “if you’re nervous just imagine them all underwater.” 

“I’m pretty sure it’s ‘imagine them in their underwear’,” Tori explained. 

“Eww! Why would I want that?” Sylvia said and the other girl opened and closed her mouth. She was too tired to deal with her friend’s adorable yet annoying English. 

“Everyone may I have your attention please,” a voice said from a nearby table. They all turned their heads to see Kodya standing on his table with a wireless mic. 

_ Well shit it’s really happening.  _

“Today I wanted to make an announcement to everyone here. There’s someone really special to me and I thought that something as big and daring as this would be enough to grab their attention.” 

Whispers increased as girls squealed. They were all trying to guess who it was while hoping it was themselves. 

Somehow Kodya managed to get the band to play a part in this. They started playing a gentle kind tune in the background to give his speech an extra effect. 

_ He went all out.  _

“Since the day I met you, you’ve been on my mind. I don’t know what it is about you that captivates me. Maybe it’s your stubbornness. Maybe it’s the way you always tease me. Maybe it’s the way that you poke your tongue out when you’re focused on reading a book. Maybe it’s the way that you always listen to all my stories. Maybe it’s the way that you try and deny that you care about me when you clearly do,” he chuckled that last bit. 

_ Wow he really put a lot of thought into this. Those details are actually—accurate about me.  _

He moved closer to the table as he continued. “Whatever it is, I know that you’re someone I want. I want to hold your hand in the hallways and I want to walk you to class. I want to take you on dates and I want to kiss you on your doorstep when I bring you to your house. I want to take you to prom and I want to make you happy.” 

The whole cafeteria was so captivated by his words. He sounded so genuinely head over heels for whoever he was talking about that they couldn’t even bring themselves to be jealous if it wasn’t them. 

Even Gyrus looked at him with such awe. This whole thing is so cliche and Gyrus never liked these tricks when he saw them in movies. Though as Kodya came closer and closer he seemed to finally understand why they always worked. 

The part of him that was afraid was long gone. All he could think about was Kodya as his heart beat sped up. 

“Pfft,” Tori mocked, “I wonder who that bitch is.” 

“I promise to be the best boyfriend that you could ask for! If you’ll let me.” 

He arrived right in front of Gyrus and everyone in the cafeteria was in shock. 

“Holy shit  _ you’re _ the bitch,” Tori whispered in surprise. 

Kodya offered him a kind smile that always made him feel safe and the world seemed to fade away. 

“Gyrus Axalei,” the music stopped, “will you do me the honor of being my boyfriend.” 

Kodya moved the mic so that it was facing Gyrus now. Everyone started murmuring as he took a while to answer. 

He couldn’t hear them though. He was too busy getting lost in Kodya’s honey brown eyes. 

“Yes,” he said meekly and the whole room erupted in cheers. People were clapping and screaming (there were even a handful of people crying) as Gyrus stood up so Kodya could hug him. 

“That’s my best friend!” Anan praised from their little squad. Nephthys held her hand over her mouth to suppress her happiness and Feather couldn’t stop the sly smile on her lips. 

Sylvia was jumping up and down and Tori smiled at them. (Not to brag but she knew this would happen.) 

Out of nowhere everyone started chanting one thing. “KISS!” 

The two looked at each other and suddenly it snapped.  _ Oh yeah, this isn’t real.  _ They had to think of some way out of this because clearly they won’t let them go without them kissing. 

“Trust me,” Kodya whispered before putting both hands on either side of Gyrus’s face and leaning in close. 

Gyrus was filled with a pang of sadness as he closed his eyes. He wished that their—his first kiss would be private and sweet, not in front of a sea of horny teenagers. There wasn’t much he could do now so he just waited for it to happen. 

The cheers turned into louder screams and Gyrus realized that their lips hadn’t touched. 

He opened his eyes to see Kodya closing his eyes and covering their mouths so no one could see that they weren’t kissing. From afar it did so it was enough to satisfy everyone. 

In that moment Gyrus’s heart skipped a beat at how close they were. He could practically count the number of his eyelashes. He could see every curve of his cheeks and every little perfect imperfection that made Kodya, Kodya. 

When he pulled away from the kiss, for some reason, Gyrus was breathless.

The students were still cheering as the taller boy wrapped an arm around his waist. 

“So looks like it worked,” Kodya smiled as he whispered in his ear. 

“Yeah yeah yeah don’t get too full of yourself,” Gyrus chuckled as he pushed his side gently.

—————

As the trio walked out of the classroom, all eyes were on Gyrus. 

“Dude I can't believe you actually got yourself a boyfriend,” Tori chuckled teasingly. “Not gonna lie I knew you’d never be the one to make the first move.” 

“Hey,” Gyrus laughed, “I did make him fall for me first.” 

“As if you aren’t just as head over heels,” Sylvia smiled and nudged him. 

“Congrats man!” Some guy that Gyrus barely knew said to him. 

“Uh- thanks?” Gyrus wasn't used to people actually talking to him. 

He wasn’t the first stranger to go up to him today. It was really new and confusing for Gyrus. Though he got nothing but positive words, the attention was a bit surreal. 

“Good luck with the new fans,” Tori said, “seems like it comes with dating Mr. Popular.” 

“It’s kinda weird,” he admitted, “these people that barely acknowledged my existence are suddenly acting like my friends.” 

“Well that’s high school for ya. Now that you’re popular everyone’s going to kiss up to you.” 

“That’s a good thing right?” Sylvia asked. “More people will be nice to you!” 

Tori wrapped her arm around her friend’s shoulder. “Not everyone is really nice. Some people just fake it.” 

“That doesn’t make any sense to me,” she pouted, “if a person didn’t do anything wrong why is it so hard to be nice to them?” 

“Because not everyone is as kind hearted as you.” Tori said and Sylvia pulled her into one of her bone crushing hugs. 

Finally she let go and let her breathe. “Anyways none of that should matter. This is all about you and huntsman!” She already made a nickname for Kodya because of his explanation before. “No one else should matter because it’s your relationship.” 

Gyrus smiled as a bit of sadness overcame him. 

“Speaking of the devil,” Tori said and nudged her head making them all look in that direction. 

Kodya and his whole clique were heading towards them. 

“Gyrus!” He waved happily. The green haired boy would’ve been put at ease if it weren’t for the glaring blonde that walked behind him. 

He did his best to muster up any courage to wave back. 

Suddenly a purple haired girl overtook Kodya. She launched herself at Gyrus and gave him a sweet hug. 

She squealed when she pulled away. “You’re adorable! Kody got so lucky oh my god.” 

“Uhm,” Gyrus chuckled nervously, “thank you.” 

“Nephthys please don’t scare him away. I just got him to say yes,” Kodya said. 

“I’m sorry,” she said backing away, “I’m just so happy that Kodya finally found you! He’s been so resistant to dating anyone. I’m so glad that his first boyfriend is a sweetheart.” 

Gyrus blushed red.  _ Oh shit I’m his first?  _

“Do you two know each other?” Tori raised an eyebrow. 

“No but from what Kodya’s been telling me about you, I already can tell you’re an amazing person.” 

“Kodya talks about me?” he asked shyly. 

Nephthys pinched his cheeks. “He has been for so many weeks now. I’m surprised this day didn’t come sooner-“ 

“Okay that’s enough Nephthys for one day,” he said in embarrassment as he tried to push his best friend away before she could expose him more. “So I was wondering if you’d wanna go on a date with me. You know,” he said shyly. Gyrus has never seen Kodya shy before. “since you’re my boyfriend and all.” 

Neither of them could fight the smile that came with the word ‘boyfriend’. 

Gyrus would imagine what it looked like to passerbys. In the middle of the hallway the two groups were so very different. 

Gyrus, Tori and Sylvia were more so considered losers and nobody’s while the others were practically high school royalty. 

The only thing connecting them was Gyrus and Kodya’s relationship. 

“I’d love to,” Gyrus smiled. 

“Awesome,” Kodya beamed, “let’s go!” 

“Wait right now?!” Gyrus said as Kodya dragged him by the arm. 

“Yeah,” he chuckled, “we don’t have any more classes for the rest of the day.” 

“But I’m not dressed properly,” he said. 

Kodya chuckled and pulled him close and cupped his cheek. “You look breathtaking.” 

With that the smaller boy felt weak in the knees and he couldn’t protest any longer. 

When the two disappeared an awkward silence filled the rest of them. 

“Hi,” Sylvia jumped forward and extended a hand. “I’m Sylvia!” 

Anan’s eyes widened when he caught sight of the pretty girl. He stepped forward and took her hand and kissed it. “I’m Anan.” 

She giggled happily that someone was being friendly and Tori rolled her eyes at her friend’s innocence. 

Though she noticed the way that Regan glared at Gyrus with so much anger and hatred. Tori’s protectiveness kicked in and she returned the glare even more powerfully. She had a bad feeling about her. 

Her eyes portrayed her unspoken threat.  _ Don’t you fucking dare hurt my best friend, bitch.  _

—————

“Where’re we going?” Gyrus asked. Kodya had been dragging him across town for a while now. 

“I promise you’ll love it,” he replied. 

After a while the two arrived at a small cafe. From the window he could see maybe only two or three other people there. 

Kodya opened the door and led him inside by the hand. 

Inside, the store was filled with bookshelves and tables. On the side there was a place where you can order drinks and opposite of it there seemed to be a cashier. 

“It’s a book cafe,” Kodya explained, “I know how much you like to read so I thought you’d like it here.” 

There was an unsaid question and nervousness in his voice. “I love it,” Gyrus said, making him smile. 

“Come on then!” His giddiness returned. “Let’s go inside.” 

They took a seat and ordered drinks. They placed their bags beside the table to claim it so they could wander into the bookstore. 

Gyrus happily looked through the selection and Kodya trailed behind him. He found a title he thought would be interesting and pulled it out of the bookshelf. 

When he turned to the other he realized that he was being videoed. 

“H-hey!” he stuttered, “what’s that for?” 

“We want to gain a fanbase don’t we? We gotta give them a reason to. Posting things like these on social media will make them love us even more.” 

“That’s pretty smart,” he said, “just warn me next time okay?” 

“But you look so cute when you’re all immersed in your books like that.” He pouted and Gyrus gushed at the compliment. 

“Whatever,” he mumbled, “just make sure I don’t look like an idiot.” 

“But you are one,” he joked, making the over flip him off. 

Gyrus didn’t like the summary for the story so he put it back. He noticed another book that seemed nice on a higher shelf. He tried to get it but it was just out of his reach. 

Kodya laughed at his struggle. He moved to stand behind him and reach up for the book. He was only a bit taller than Gyrus but he practically trapped the other with his body. 

The smaller boy turned around and their bodies were pressed together. The other was standing on his tiptoes just to reach the book. He finally got it and showed it to Gyrus. He smiled but didn’t move away. 

“Move,” Gyrus laughed, “don’t make this more of a cliche than it already is.” 

“Why?” Kodya said coyly. “Can’t I stay close to my boyfriend.” He rested his forearms on the bookshelf next to Gyrus’s head. 

Gyrus was starting to blush. “Jackass get away from me,” he said playfully trying to push him away so he can’t see his face. 

He chuckled at him and moved closer making his breath hitch. They were so close that Gyrus’s eyes fluttered. 

Before anything could happen Kodya handed him the book and pulled away. 

“Come on,” he smirked, “let’s go get our drinks.” 

Gyrus couldn’t move from where he was. He was desperately holding onto the book trying to make sure his already injured legs didn't give out. 

“You fucking suck!” He said as the other walked away. 

He stood up properly and rubbed his cheeks.  _ Fuck you Kodya playing all these games. I find it hard to believe this is your first relationship because you’re already an annoying flirt.  _

Kodya play-flirting with him was nothing new. It seemed to come with their friendship dynamics. Though now with the fake dating it just seemed to intensify. 

When he got to the table their drinks were there and Kodya was happily sipping his coffee and tapping away on his phone. 

“Let’s take some pictures,” Kodya said when he sat down. He held up his camera to take a selfie. Gyrus tried his best to not look awkward. 

When he was satisfied Gyrus went on and started reading the book. He held his drink in one hand and used the other to hold the book up. 

_ Click.  _ He looked up and saw Kodya taking pictures of him again. 

“Stop doing that!” He pouted. 

“I’m sorry you just looked really cute,” he said in protest, “look.” He showed him the picture. 

Not even Gyrus could deny that it was a nice picture. “ _ Fine. _ ” 

The brunette smiled proudly at himself and Gyrus went back to reading. 

He couldn’t even finish the first page when he started to get self conscious because Kodya was staring at him. 

“Yes?” he asked. 

“I didn’t say anything.” 

“You’re staring at me.” 

“Because you’re not paying attention to me!” 

“I’m reading! You brought me here so I could read right?” 

Kodya pouted. “Do you like the book?” 

“Yeah.” 

He nodded, stood up and took the book from him. 

“Give it back!” he whined playfully. 

Kodya went over to the chasheir and bought the book for him. He came back with it, a receipt and a free book mark. 

“Here,” Kodya smiled, “you can read it later and now you can focus on me!” 

“You’re such a baby,” Gyrus mumbled as he put the things into his bag. 

“I’m your baby,” he said, making them both laugh. 

“Can you get even more cringy?” 

“You’ll have to find out.” 

Gyrus rolled his eyes. They soon started to joke and hang out like they always did. At that moment it didn't feel like much changed between them. It was nice that they were still able to enjoy each other’s presence. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it had beGuN
> 
> Also here in the story Kodya is taller then Gyrus but by just a bit. 
> 
> I love Sylvia sm she is my babie!!
> 
> Have y'all read the chapter that came out today? There is so much confusion but WE GOT JEALOUS KODYA !! I was fed well today thank you


	6. I'd Sell You To Satan For A Corn Chip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Hold My Girl" by George Ezra

“So what do you like to do for fun?” Anan subtlety leaned closer to her. 

Sylvia flashed her cute toothy smile. “I love to eat and hang out with my friends.” 

“Eat huh?” he said, “I know this really good restaurant downtown, maybe we could go together sometime.” 

“That sounds like so much fun!” She gushed and Anan smiled happily. “How bout this Saturday?” 

“It’s a da-“ 

She interrupted him by tugging on Tori’s shirt. “Rose! Anan’s inviting us to a restaurant! He said that it’s good. Please please please come!” 

Anan sighed and plopped his head down on the table. Yet another failure at asking her out. Feather stifled her laughter as she comforted her dejected best friend. 

Tori didn’t immediately react to Sylvia. She was busy observing Reagn. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously at the way that the blonde looked at Gyrus. From where Regan sat Kodya’s back was facing her but she was looking right at Gyrus. Her eyes never wavered and it made the green haired boy squirm uncomfortably. 

“Rose?” Sylvia snapped her out by gently shaking her. 

“Oh sorry- yeah I’d love to go with you two,” she said a bit over exaggerated just to rub salt in Anan’s wound.  _ Nice try. I’m not going to let you play with Sylvia that easily.  _

It was clear that things were still a bit strange in their joined group. Nephthys had the great idea that they should all eat together after Gyrus and Kodya started dating. They’ve been doing this for a while and yet it was still a bit weird.

Thought it was honestly going pretty smoothly save for the obvious tension and anger radiating off Regan and Tori. 

Anan had grown a little too fond of the pink haired girl and he has been constantly trying to swoon her ever since. Nephthys and Tori were able to talk and clicked quite quickly. Everyone loved Sylvia— that was just inevitable. Gyrus would spend time with his friends and occasionally talk with Nephthys, Anan and Feather but most of the time he was in his own little world with Kodya. 

It wasn’t hard for them to act like a couple because they were already so close. Kodya had his arm wrapped around Gyrus’s waist as they talked. He would occasionally steal one of Gyrus’s fries but that's alright because Gyrus would steal his cookies. 

“No,” Kodya chuckled with his mouth full of food, “since it’s essentially in a liquid, doesn't that make cereal a soup?” 

Gyrus was happily snuggled against his side as the warmth of his arm and letterman jacket kept him comfy. “You make a valid point thought wait—“ 

They talked and teased like they always did but everyone seemed to take it differently now. Often students would walk behind the couple and whisper and giggle about how adorable they are. One girl even squealed. 

Nephthys was more than happy for her best friend but she had to address the bad vibes Regan and Tori were giving off before it became a problem for them. 

She made a mental note to fix that later. 

“So Gyrus,” she said, “you and Kodya have been dating for almost a month now. What’s it like?” 

“Horrible,” Gyrus joked, making Kodya shove him gently. He giggled at his response. “He’s always so affectionate and clingy and he makes the best pancakes ever. I’m living a nightmare.” 

Kodya playfully pouted at his sarcasm. 

When Gyrus was done laughing he cupped Kodya’s cheek with his hand. “You know I’m joking,” he said as he kissed the top of his nose. 

During the span of their fake dating Gyrus had gotten used to the extreme PDA they had to keep up. At the start he was a nervous blubbering mess every time and Kodya would have to initiate it. Now Gyrus had grown bolder and more comfortable around Kodya. It was his time to get back at him for the embarrassment the brunette caused him. 

Kodya blushed red uncharacteristically and tilted his head down so no one else could see. 

Nephthys cooed at them and put her hand on her heart. “Kody you’re blushing! I’ve never seen you look so shy!” Her squeals just made him shyer. He jerked his head so his hair would fall out of his ponytail and cover his face. 

Feather chuckled. “Gyrus you’re pretty cool. This is a whole new Kodya we haven’t seen before.” 

“Thanks,” he smiled before returning his attention to his shy boyfriend. “Awh are you blushing baby?” He put his fingers under Kodya’s chin and titled his face up. “Don’t hide your cute face from me.” 

Kodya got even more shy at the pet name and the compliments. He wrapped both of his arms around the other and pulled him closer so he could nuzzle his face in the crook of his neck. 

“I hate you,” his voice was muffled from him pressing so close to the other. 

“You sure about that?” he asked as he raked a hand through his long brown hair. He kissed Kodya’s cheek and the jock turned as red as the cafeteria trays. 

“Get a room!” Tori whined playfully and Gyrus flicked her forehead. 

Neither of them decided to focus on the fact that Kodya held onto him for way longer than he needed to and Gyrus didn’t stop gently stroking his hair. 

—————

“So I’ve called this meeting of people who I think aren’t getting along.” Nephthys said as she stood in front of the empty classroom. 

“It’s literally just me and Regan,” Tori said matter-of-factly as she begrudgingly sat on a desk right in front of her. 

“I’m aware.” The tall girl’s white heels clicked as she walked around the room and her purple hair swayed in a ponytail. “You two have been acting like total men since the start.” 

Regan scoffed and Tori glared at her. 

“This is exactly what I mean,” she said, scolding and pointing between them, “I don’t know what beef you two have with each other so we’re going to deal with this here and now.” 

“Fine,” Tori said as she sat up in her seat, “Blondie here has been acting suspiciously threatening to my friend.” She knew that Regan was probably closer to Nephthys than she was since they knew each other longer, but Nephthys has proven herself to be nothing but smart, fair and an excellent judge of character. She’d take everything they said in serious situations objectively. 

“What makes you say that?” 

“You haven’t smiled since we started eating together and you just brood in the corner whenever he’s around. I always catch her glaring at Gyrus and I can tell it makes him feel uncomfortable and unsafe. I see the way that fear flashes in his eyes when they meet yours. He thinks he can hide from everyone but if anyone knows Gyrus it’s me.” 

“Regan do you have anything to say about this?” 

“I don’t have to say shit,” she scoffed. 

“So you’re not denying it?” Tori asked. 

Regan angrily slammed her fist on the desk and the room fell silent for a moment. “I haven’t done shit to your friend. Yeah I don’t like him but it’s not my fault that he’s a pussy around me.” 

Tori jerked up from her seat making the whole chair topple. She marched over to Regan and pulled her up by the shirt. “What the fuck did you call him?” 

“Tori!” Nephthys said nervously as he held onto her other hand. Her eyes were pleading for her to stop so the red head sighed before letting go of Regan and sitting down again. 

“So Victoria—“ Regan was interrupted. 

“Tori,” she said through gritted teeth. The way her name sounded when anyone but Queen said it repulsed her. Regan’s annoying spiteful voice made her feel sick to the stomach. It was even worse because she knew that Regan wasn’t as good as she seemed. “Call me  _ Tori _ .” 

“Whatever,” she grumbled, “So Tori what do you say about that.” 

“I don’t trust you,” she said plainly, “I don’t buy your whole charade. I will find out the truth and I swear to god if you’ve hurt my best friend in any way I will not hesitate to stab you.” 

“Do you really think you could take me in a fight Rose?” Tori’s blood boiled at Regan using Sylvia’s special nickname for her in a derogatory way. 

“I will fucking m—“ 

“ _ enough _ !” Nephthys snapped and they went quiet. “Would you two stop trying to assert your dominance for one second! Look Regan I have to admit that Tori’s not wrong. You’ve been making Gyrus uncomfortable and that’s way out of line. I don’t expect you to like Gyrus but you need to respect that he’s part of Kodya’s life now. Kodya’s never been happier and if you’re actually his friend then you need to stop making this dreadful for Gyrus.” 

Regan sat silently as she angrily processed her words. 

“All I ask is that you put your differences and your egos aside for the sake of your friends. You care about them right? Then let them be happy! You don’t even need to be friends, you guys just need to stop looking like you’re plotting murder. It’s going to mess with the vibe.” 

“Tori, I don’t expect you to trust Regan but if she stops making Gyrus feel bad then will you also lighten up?” 

“Yeah,” she said shamefully at the fact that they were being told off like a bunch of kids. 

“So do we have a deal? A ceasefire at least?” 

“Fine,” they both said and Nephthys finally sighed and smiled. 

“Good,” serious Nephthys was already gone, “now you two, shake hands.” 

Against their will the two angry girls shook hands for a quick second before pulling away. 

“See!” she cheered, “you two are getting along already.” 

“I’d sell you to Satan for a corn chip,” Tori said. 

Nephthys sighed again and rested her hands on her slim waist. “Whatever, it’s progress.” 

—————

“—I know I know,” Kodya said into the phone as he paced around the room. 

“An A is alright but it’s not good enough. Just one slip up and you’re already in the B’s. You need to do better,” Kodya’s father scolded him after he told him most of his grades. 

“Yes dad; I’ll work harder.” 

“How about football? How’s training?” 

“It’s been going well. Coach often compares my teammates to me and says that I’m a model player and setting a great example as team captain.” He beamed because he had some news he thought would make his dad proud. 

“Your teammates probably don’t like you. They’re probably thinking that you’re a kiss up to the coach. That’s not good for the team’s unity,” he said coldly. 

“What do you suggest I do?” he sighed. 

“You should spend some time with the team after practice and win them over to your side. You guys need to have a strong bond to succeed as a team. Especially you since you’re the captain.” 

“But I’ve been following that training program you gave me. It takes up a lot of my after practice time.” 

His father sighed in frustration. “Look boy do you want to win or not?” 

“I want to win.” 

“Well you can’t win with all those excuses. Find a way. You’re a man, do it yourself.” 

“Okay.” 

“How about Nephthys. You two getting any closer?” 

“Dad I’m gay remember.” 

Kodya could feel the disgust that radiated through the phone as he spoke. “Things can always change you know.” 

“Nephthys isn’t my type.” 

“Well I’m sure you’ll find the right girl. Anyways I’ve got to go. Your mom asked me to fix something. I’m expecting good things from you the next time I call. Don’t disappoint.” 

“I won’t. Take care—“ the call was dropped. 

Kodya sighed trying to release his rage and threw his phone somewhere. His legs were trembling so he sat down on the bed and angrily pulled and ruffled his hair. 

“Nothing,” he said bitterly, “nothing I ever do will be enough!” 

Calls like this from his father weren’t anything new. They were too familiar to be considered healthy. Kodya doesn’t know why he always lets himself hope for something different. 

It was always the same thing. He’d ask for an update on the things that mattered: school, football, his lack of a girlfriend and his father would tell him everything he’s doing wrong in each. 

Kodya’s hands were trembling and he could feel an anxiety attack coming on. 

_ No no no.  _ He thought to himself.  _ Not now, please not now-  _

It was too late though. His chest heaved up and down as he took quick shallow breaths and the shakiness was spreading throughout his whole body. 

Right before he felt like giving up and surrendering to his pain, he heard the door open. 

“I’m back,” Gyrus announced as he walked through the door, “there was no premade cookie dough so I bought ingredients so we can make it from scratch.” When he got close enough to see Kodya properly he immediately placed the grocery bags on the table and ran up to him. 

Gyrus kneeled on the floor in front of him and gently moved his shaking hands away from his hair. “Hey, it’s okay,” he said as he rubbed circles on the back of his hand. 

Kodya didn’t even realize he was crying until Gyrus wiped away his tears. He felt pathetic. Why was he getting so worked up over a call? 

Maybe it was because all of that pent up emotion had finally caught up to him. 

“Take a deep breath with me now,” Gyrus said as he inhaled and exhaled deeply. Kodya did his best to follow and eventually he was able to calm down. 

“There,” Gyrus smiled at him sweetly and rubbed his cheek. “Better?” 

Kodya nodded and snuggled into his touch. 

“You wanna talk about it?” 

He shook his head “no.” 

“That’s okay,” he said, “I’m here for you though. Is there anything you need?” He knew that Kodya had secrets of his own. It’s funny how the tables had turned but Gyrus didn’t want to push him for answers. 

Kodya didn’t say anything but a light pink blush dusted his cheeks. Gyrus chuckled already knowing what he wanted. 

The green haired boy stood up so he could sit beside Kodya on his bed. He wrapped his arms around Kodya’s waist and leaned down to nuzzle his face and plant a soft kiss on Kodya’s neck. He pulled them both down onto the bed. Kodya shifted in his position so he could rest his head on Gyrus’s chest. 

During their time of fake dating, Gyrus learned many things about Kodya. 

One of the most shocking was that he liked to  _ cuddle _ . 

The football team captain that could pick Gyrus up like he was nothing liked to cuddle. 

It was incredibly endearing. 

He didn’t mind. Kodya was always very affectionate so this wasn’t too different. Though there was just something oddly intimate about lying in bed together. They were so close that Kodya could hear his steady heartbeat. 

_ Is it weird that we do this? I mean it’s normal for friends to cuddle, but it’s just different. Our relationship is fake and there’s really no need for this when no one’s around. Was it wrong that I’m starting to get too comfortable with him.  _

Gyrus refused to think about any of that and just looked down. Luckily Kodya had fallen asleep in his arms. His cheeks were puffed because his face was pressed against him and their legs were tangled in the sheets. He gently ran his hands up and down his body and tangled them in his soft brown hair. 

He was worried about Kodya. Gyrus wasn’t dumb. He noticed the way that he would space out or the fact that he has been wearing pain relieving patches all over his body. Sadly this wasn’t the first panic attack that he helped Kodya with. 

He traced a finger along his side and sighed sadly when he felt another one of those patches. 

Soon enough he started to realize more than ever that golden boy’s life wasn’t all that perfect. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> discussion question: between Gyrus and Kodya, who's the top and who's the bottom??????
> 
> HAHAHAHAHAH 
> 
> but like seriously tho guys I wanna know 
> 
> Also Nephthys is a boss ass queen and Kodya deserves better that's the tea


	7. Adios Muchachos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter wasn't too much inspired by music but here are some that got me in the vibe. 
> 
> Also Alistar is a teenager here so it makes sense with the plot 
> 
> "Sarah Smiles" by Panic! At The Disco  
> "Alone Together" by Fall Out Boy  
> "(Feels Like) Heaven" by Fiction Factory

“Okay everyone!” Their teacher smiled happy as she clapped her hands together. She was a young and bubbly girl with blonde hair that was dyed sea blue at the ends. She was very pretty and had a kind welcoming smile. “Just to reiterate for our newest member, I’m Ms. Joy and this is Drama 1!” 

Majority of the class cheered happily as she raised her hands up. Kodya had never seen such an excited class before. He understood why though, their teacher’s enthusiasm was infectious. 

“So everyone go into your groups for the project. Today we’ll spend the whole period working on the set plan. By next meeting your individual roles should be assigned and ready. Kodya you can come to me so I can explain it and give you your group.” He nodded politely. “Okay now everyone get to work!” 

As everyone scrambled into little groups across the room Kodya went up to her desk. 

She waved happily at him. “Okay so you missed the introduction and a few of the drills, but they’re not graded so no need to worry. Just take this.” She handed him a notebook that’s design looks handmade. When Kodya looked inside it the whole thing was full of neatly written notes with highlights and little explanatory doodles. 

“Did you make this?” He asked in awe. 

She smiled brightly. “Yup. It’s everything that we covered before you joined. If you’re ever confused on anything feel free to come see me after class for some one on one teaching.” 

Kodya was a bit speechless as he looked through the notebook. Everything looked like it took so much time and effort to make. He’s never seen a teacher do this much for a student. “T-thank you Ms. Joy.” 

“It’s not a problem. Now, this project is going to decide what musical we’ll be performing for the whole school. The task is that each group has to perform a small scale version of their given musical for the class and I’ll be deciding whose production is the best. You’re over there in group two and you’ll be doing the musical ‘The Greatest Showman’.”

“Thank you again, miss!” He smiled back at her just as brightly before walking up to his group. The whole theater thing was new to him so in all honesty- he was very nervous. 

“Uhm hi,” he said as he approached them. They all stopped what they were doing to look at him. 

“I’m Kodya. Ms Joy said that I’m in your group,” he said it kind of like a question. 

“Great,” a blue haired girl said. From the tone of her voice you could tell she meant business. “Now we have enough members to complete the cast.” 

“Woah I have to act in the play?” His eyes widened in slight panic. 

“I get that you’re mr. popular and this might not be the best for your rep, but it’s for our grades okay?” She sassed back. 

“Ease up on him Maria,” a short boy with ashy brown hair said, “he’s clearly just nervous.” 

“You’ve never been on stage before have you?” A cute boy with platinum blonde hair asked and he shook his head. 

“Well you’re in the drama class now so there’s a first time for everything,” Maria said as she gestured to him to sit down. 

“Hey guys, sorry I’m late,” a familiar redhead ran into the room. “Huntsman?” 

“Tori?” Kodya said in confusion. 

“You’re not in this class.” 

“I am now. There was a mixup with my schedule.” He explained. It was nice to know that he at least knew someone there. 

She nodded in understanding and sat down with them. “To make this a lot easier- That’s Maria.” 

“Sup,” The blue haired girl waved. 

“That’s Serdste-“ a bald boy offered him a kind smile. 

“That’s Bronzo-“ she pointed at a tall boy with long hair. 

“That’s vela,” a kind looking girl wearing a hijab smiled at him. 

“That’s Alistar,” the short boy from earlier smiled. 

“that’s Knox,” the platinum blonde boy waved. She went on to introduce everyone else since they were a pretty big group. 

“Everyone I’m pretty sure you all know Kodya.” They all nodded making him feel a bit more insecure. “Great now let’s get to work.” 

“In three days we’re going to have auditions for the roles. We’re all going to be singing the song ‘The Greatest Show’ from the musical and we’re going to vote on who should play which role. Everyone take a copy of the lyrics and meet us there at 3:30 pm then okay?” Everyone nodded. “While we wait it’s time to make the set plan.” 

“Kodya can you draw the base of the stage?” Maria asked. 

The boy hesitated for a second before trying his best. “Like this?” He showed them the paper. 

For a quick second they all just stared at it before bursting into rapid laughter. 

“Is that an arm?” Tori asked between breaths. 

“No! It’s the wall!” Kodya was blushing red and pouting angrily. 

“Why does it look like it has eyes?” Alistar could barely breathe. 

He didn’t really have an explanation for that. “Look I’m not as good at drawing as Gyrus okay?” 

Eventually they all calmed down and Kodya tried his best to contribute. His obsession with My Hero Academia came to the rescue as he was able to learn a thing or two about design because of it. Though he could not draw to save his life, he was decent enough at coloring within the lines. He was actually having a lot of fun, but he was still a bit afraid to voice out any of his ideas since he was too new to this. 

“Alright class it’s almost dismissal time,” she said. Though most of them were still too preoccupied by what they were doing to be excited to leave. 

She chuckled at their hard work. “Remember everyone I want each cast list by next meeting which is in four days. Make sure to bring your A-game because no matter what role you play and what musical wins I’m still going to be grading your performance _and_ there will be auditions again for every role.” The class made various noises in agreement. “Okay class dismissed everyone!” 

After a bit more final planning of the main stage design, the group finally broke apart to leave. 

Kodya walked out of the class with a smile on his face as he started to memorize the lines to the song. 

“Hey,” Anan ran up to him from behind and put an arm around his shoulder. “What’s that?” 

“Nothing!” he said as he stuffed it into his bag, “just my assignment.” 

The other didn’t seem to bother to ask any more about it. “So ready for practice, Captain?” 

His father’s words rang in his ears as a mix of dread and determination filled him. “Yeah.” 

—————

Gyrus somehow managed to get himself in detention again. He wasn’t paying attention in class and this particular teacher never really liked him. 

There he was in an empty classroom with only about two or three more kids. The teacher was half asleep as he graded papers. 

He was busy drawing a bunch of random shapes all over his skin. He slid back his black hoodie sleeve and decorated his wrist with black ink. He drew a little solar system and decorated it with little stars. 

Suddenly the bell rang and the teacher incoherently mumbled and allowed them all to leave. This side of the school was rather empty as usual. Most students were either at their respective clubs or sports training, in the cafeteria, in the library or at home. 

He slipped his things into his bag and and lazily walked out of class. He’s been extra sleepy these last few days and his conduct grade was suffering but let’s be honest, he didn’t really care. 

Gyrus was lucky enough to be born smart that staying awake in class wasn’t too essential. 

“Hey Battery,” Regan snarled from the end of the hallway. 

_Oh shit._ All of a sudden Gyrus jolted awake. Sadly enough this wasn’t anything new. Though ever since he and Kodya started ‘dating’ Regan had backed away. Looks like today she finally had enough. 

There were plenty of things Gyrus could’ve done in that situation. He could finally face Regan and stand up for himself. Tell her that he won’t be used anymore and that he was going to tell everyone how bad she really was. He could’ve mustered up the courage to finally be free,

but he didn’t. 

Instead he ran. 

They were in a particularly long hallway so it took all of Gyrus’s willpower to blot all the way to the other side. Hopefully there would be other people there so Regan couldn’t hurt him. 

Sadly for him Regan had a head start and she was much faster. She managed to pull him back and slam him against the wall. His head harshly hit the concrete filling a sharp pain through his body. She punched him in the face a few times as his lip and nose was already starting to bleed and stain her hand and white shirt. 

Gyrus did not want to die today. With the last of his sanity he brought up his leg and kicked her in the stomach. Finally she toppled back giving him enough time to run around the corner. 

The universe was never really on Gyrus’s side; no one was there in the hallway. He could hear Regan approaching and he knew that he would not be able to outrun her. In a split second he weighed his options in his head and decided to run into a random classroom in hopes to hide from her. 

Hastily, he barged into the room and closed the door before she could see him. He looked around and realized that he was in the culinary room. 

Gyrus looked through the little space between the door and saw Regan run, thinking that he had kept running. He pressed his back against the door and sighed in relief. His legs gave out as he slid down against the door. 

“Uhm are you okay?” Gyrus didn’t realize that he wasn’t alone until a soft voice made him jolt his head up. 

A blonde meek looking boy wearing all white stood warily in front of him. He jumped back when Gyrus looked at him. 

“Oh I’m so sorry for barging in,” Gyrus said as he tried to stand. He had used up a lot of his energy as his legs hurt so that was quite a struggle. 

“No it’s okay,” the stranger said, “you can stay, I was just wondering because your...uhm…bleeding.” 

“Oh,” he said nonchalantly. He hadn’t really noticed the crimson dripping from his nose and lips. He wiped it away with the back of his hand only to be greeted with a sharp pain from the contact. 

The boy didn’t really know much about first aid so he offered him a damp clean cloth to wipe away the blood. 

“Thank you,” Gyrus said as he cleaned himself up. 

The silence was starting to get awkward and the boy didn’t really know what else to say. “I’m Olimedes. I’m a senior.” 

“Gyrus,” he said as he tried to offer a smile, “we’re in the same grade.” 

“Nice,” Oli said and silence fell upon them again. “So uhm, are you okay? Do you need anything?” 

“If it’s not too much could I stay here for a while? I kinda wanna rest for a bit before walking home.” 

“Sure!” He smiled. “It’s just me here. I’m working on the batter for the next bake sale so I’ll be here for a while.” 

“Thanks,” Gyrus said softly as he continued to clean off the blood. Though every time he did more seemed to spill out. 

He appreciated the silence that came with Oli just baking and mixing. It was nice that he didn’t constantly ask him questions, but Gyrus couldn’t lie, he much preferred having Kodya take care of him. Though he knew that Kodya already had enough to deal with and he didn’t want to burden him any more. 

On the other side he could hear Oli’s stressful sigh. “You okay there?” He asked. 

“Yeah it’s just—“ he scoffed when the machine sputtered again— “the coffee machine isn’t working and I need it for one of the side dishes.” 

Gyrus stood up. He went all the way over to him and looked at the machine. 

“I could try and fix it,” he offered, “I’m pretty good with mechanics and all that.” 

“No,” Oli quickly said shyly, “I’d already be asking too much and you’re injured.” 

“It’s alright.” He smiled. “My hands are fine and I’m going to be hiding in here for a while, might as well be productive right?” 

The blonde hesitated for a moment. “If you’re sure about it.” 

Gyrus nodded and went to go take care of it. 

—————

Practice had just ended and the group of sweaty rowdy boys made their way to the changing room. 

Kodya took this opportunity to take his dad’s advice. “Good work today guys. Food’s on me!” 

Their spirits did a whole 180 and they started cheering and jumping. Their moral was so high it seemed like they just won the championship. 

Kodya laughed. _That was a lot easier than expected._

That was the fastest he had ever seen the team get ready. It seemed to not even take five minutes for them to be all complete again. The silence of the nighttime campus was interrupted by the loud jocks making their way to the cafeteria. 

“Where’re you gonna get enough money for this?” Anan wondered as he pointed at the rest. 

Kodya sighed internally as he remembered how he gave up his money to buy that merch he was saving up for. It was a hard decision, but he thought this would benefit him in the long run. “Don’t worry ‘bout it. I’ve got this.” His signature smile sealed the deal and Anan smiled back. 

They filled up a large space and they were creating a mess. Kodya had to fight the urge to pick up the trash they scattered. (His father told him to “assert dominance and not seem like some housewife pussy”) 

He looked at his watch and cursed. They had just started eating so at this rate he’d be at least an hour behind schedule. After this he had to do a minimum 30 minutes run then study for his tests. He wanted to collapse and never get back up at the thought of the amount of work he had to do. 

Though a small smile spread on his lips when he thought about the last thing on his mental to do list. 

_Learn the song._ He said to himself. _This is a play so I’m going to have to incorporate some emotions into it right? How can I do that when I can’t even sing? Maybe Gyrus could help me. I wonder if he can sing—_

“Captain!” Anan snapped a finger in front of his face making him jolt back into consciousness. 

“Sorry I was thinking ‘bout—“ his brain went into autopilot since he was so used to having to suppress his sexuality— “uhhh boobs.” 

The whole table erupted in laughter in the wake of his lie. 

“Good one Captain,” one of them said in between laughs. 

It took them a while to calm themselves down and Kodya tried his best not to get flustered. 

_God dammit everyone’s laughing at me today._

Eventually one of his teammates, Kyle, was able to form a complete sentence. “We all know that you’re gay. It was really nice of you to try and fake it for our sake.” 

“Just to clarify we’re 100% fine with that,” Josh, a junior, said. 

“Yeah it’s your ass not ours,” Kevin earned himself a slap on the back of the head for that comment, but also a lot of laughter. 

“Bold of you to assume that Kodya is a bottom.” 

“I don’t know,” Anan said as he squinted at him, “you’re pretty whipped for Gyrus already. I mean you’ve started becoming the flustered one so—“ 

Kodya punched his shoulder. “I hate you.”

They then proceeded to start a serious debate on whether Kodya was a top or a bottom. No one thought of actually asking him because they knew they wouldn’t get an answer. 

Though the brunette didn’t stop his smile. This one was a genuine one. It felt nice to know that his team was alright with who he was. He didn’t expect them to be this open, but he was pleasantly surprised. 

If being accepted meant that his sex life seemed to become a topic just like the rest of theirs, then he didn’t mind it. It was nice to be treated just like everyone else even if just in this aspect. 

“No but have you seen Kodya’s muscles?” Josh said, “he’d crush Gyrus if he were to ride him.” 

“You all underestimate Gyrus,” Kodya finally piped up. “He can actually carry me. He’s a lot stronger than he seems.” 

“So you admit to being a bottom?” Anan asked. 

“Wait—“ 

“Then you have a strength kink then?” 

“How do you guys even know this shit?” Kodya asked, but he was drowned out by their continued discussion with the new evidence presented. 

The group divided into ‘Team Top Kodya’, ‘Team Botton Kodya’ and ‘Team Confused’. 

They were all joking around, but they seemed as serious as that one guy talking about ‘The Wizard Of Oz’ in that meme. 

“You’re going to look at me and tell me that I’m wrong?!” Josh, the leader of ‘Team Top Kodya’, exclaimed. 

“You can’t just quote memes and use that as your wholeass argument!” Kyle, a bottom Kodya believer shot back. 

Kodya sat in between all of this and chuckled at his friends’ foolishness. Suddenly he didn’t feel too bad about spending all that money. 

—————

“You’re a miracle worker!” Oli smiled as the coffee machine started working. “Thank you so much!” 

“It was just a minor thing. Don’t mention it.” Gyrus chuckled. He looked at the clock and realized that it was already so late. “I should get going. It was nice meeting you Olimedes.” 

“It was nice meeting you too.” He smiled. “And if you ever need to hide away again you’re welcome to come visit me here.” 

“I’ll keep that in mind.” 

He eventually bid him goodbye and stepped into the empty hallway. 

It was already almost dinner time so there was no way that Regan was still around right? He turned into a corner the second that the blonde stepped out of a room. 

Gyrus’s shoulders slumped for a second. _You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!_

His feet sprang into action too late and Regan has successfully pushed him onto the floor. He slid his bag away from them so she wouldn’t destroy his homework. 

He didn’t even try this time. It was late. He was tired. He just wanted to get this over with. Every time this happened, no matter what he tried, the outcome was always the same. He didn’t bother anymore and just accepted his fate. His body lay limp on the floor as a familiar mix of pain and numbness flooded his system like a chemical. 

Though it was different. The pain he felt was numbed and it was as if he wasn’t in his own body. Everything seemed to muffle and fade. 

Eventually Regan was satisfied with her torture and left him alone. 

Gyrus looked up at the bright light coming from the roof. He didn’t even try to get up. His mind wandered all over the place as his blood spilled on the floor. 

_I wonder what’s Kodya up to? Did he remember to get dinner? I know that he’s treating his team tonight, but it’s his turn. Whatever, I'll just eat some instant noodles in case._

He turned his head and stared at the newly painted lockers. 

_It’s quite funny actually. Bullying isn’t even new. It’s been happening for years. It’s almost the exact same thing again and again and again. Even though people keep writing stories, making posts and watching movies about it nothing seems to change._

_At the end of the day people like me are just destined to lose._

_You know what maybe the world isn’t worth saving._

_We haven’t learned from our mistakes yet. I don’t think things will ever change. Maybe the end of the world can finally be the beginning of something new. Something much better than what humanity is right now._

His vision was starting to fade as he saw little phosphenes, the stars in your eyes when you rub them too hard. 

_I can’t wait to leave. Maybe there's a species out there without bullying. Maybe they weren’t so superficial to care about things so trivial like high school social status. Maybe they only focus on what’s more important in life._

_God I really wish I were there instead._

Kodya was on his way to the bathroom when he found Gyrus there. He immediately dropped down and tried to make sure he was okay, but Gyrus was unresponsive. 

“Gyrus?” He asked as he cradled his face in his hands. “Wake up.” 

Gyrus’s body didn’t move at all. 

“Gyrus it’s me,” his breathing was getting heavy and his voice was trembling, “it’s me Kodya. You’re safe now.” 

“Gyrus please wake up,” he begged as he stroked his green locks back. He noticed a cut on his forehead that was staining his hair. 

“Gyrus?” He whispered gently as his eyes turned glassy. 

“Gyrus?!” His sobs were getting harsh and his tears flowed uncontrollably as his fear ate him up inside. 

“GYRUS!” His loud voice snapped Gyrus back to life. He opened his eyes (that he didn’t even remember closing) and saw Kodya bent over him. The brunette’s eyes were full of tears and his shaking hands held onto his shirt. 

_I never noticed that blonde streak in Kodya’s bangs._ Gyrus said to himself absentmindedly. _It makes him look even more perfect._

Once Kodya realized he was awake he let out a loud sigh of relief. He hosted him up and held him in an embrace. They were both sitting on the floor and Kodya pressed his face into Gyrus’s neck. His whole body shook with every sob and his tears fell like a waterfall. 

“Are you okay?” Kodya mustered out through his tears. 

Gyrus was finally fully brought down to earth as he felt the other’s warm body pressed against his. “I’m okay.” He smiled weakly and ran his fingers through Kodya’s lose hair. 

“No you’re not,” he was trying to suppress his tears, “you’re hurt and it’s all my fault; I should’ve been here to protect you.” 

Gyrus shushed him and pulled him closer. “It’s okay. You’ve done enough. This is the first time it’s happened in a while. It’s an improvement. You did that.” Gyrus’s emotions seemed to catch up to him as tears began to form in his eyes. 

“That’s not fair, I'm supposed to be the one comforting you,” he chuckled bitterly. “It’s not good enough though.” 

Gyrus pulled away from the hug and held Kodya’s face in his hands. “You’re good enough. You are more than enough Kodya.” 

Kodya nuzzled himself into Gyrus’s warm touch and the other pressed their foreheads together. Their legs were tangled on the floor and tears rolled down both their cheeks. 

“Look what you did now I’m crying too!” Gyrus joked.

“It’s not my fault you fucking scared me,” he retorted. “Does this usually happen? You know, do you pass out after getting hurt.” 

“Usually not,” he shrugged as he rubbed his finger on Kodya’s cheek. “I don’t think I fainted. It’s like my consciousness just disassociated with my body? It wasn’t really from the pain. Everything just felt numb.” 

Kodya _hicked_ and Gyrus chuckled as he brought him closer. 

“I’m going to get my stuff and I’m carrying you home. Then I’m going to take care of your wounds and make sure you’re okay,” he said. Before the other could protest, he insisted. “No _I am_ carrying you home okay?” 

“Fine,” Gyrus sighed. 

“Good,” Kodya sighed as he started into his beautiful lavender eyes.

He rested his hand on the other’s hand that was cupping his cheek and just let himself relish in the moment for a while longer. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> can I just say that Kodya not being able to draw is my favorite thing ever. 
> 
> I was tired of close minded homophobic jocks so I kinda wanted to make Kodya's team good people because in stories like these they're usually associated with being jerks. They're really wild and dumb, I love them. 
> 
> Also the newest chapter fucked me up I want to roundhouse kick Don in the face thank you for coming to my Ted Talk. 
> 
> Just a note though, I already kind of have the story planned out so if in the official Room Of Swords something happens like Regan and Tori become friends or something, that doesn't mean my fic will follow because yeah we need ~plot lines and dramaaaaa~
> 
> Also Ms Joy is my OC I love her


	8. Lesbian James Bond

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Perfume" by Mehro

That day, right after drama class, Tori ran off. She had to tell Sylvia that she wouldn’t meet up with her today because she had some important business to do. She pulled the hood of her grey jacket over her head and looked for her target. 

After a while of searching she saw Regan enter the gym on her own. (A few days ago Nephthys had accidentally let it slip where Tori could find Regan after school.) 

She trailed behind carefully. She noticed that no one else was inside the gym so she knew she had to watch from afar. 

After that the blonde went to her locker and looked around before reaching in to get something. It looked a bit shiny, but Tori couldn’t see it clear enough. 

Suddenly her phone rang loudly. She fumbled in her pocket and tried to answer it before Regan heard anything. She bent down on the floor just so she would be harder to spot. 

“Sylv I’m sorry, but it’s not a good time. Remember I’m doing something today.” She whispered into the phone. 

“Oh I was just eating out with Anan. He took me back to the restaurant we all went to before! I was just wondering if you wanted me to bring you a cookie since you really liked them last time,” she said. 

Tori mentally cursed herself for not being able to stop Anan from getting his way. Though her heart softened at the girl’s sweetness. “Sure. I’d love that.” 

“Okay!” She giggled. “See you! Good luck on your important buss-ness.” 

“Thanks,” she sighed fondly before ending the call. 

Once she ended the call she kneeled a bit higher to try and spot Regan. Though when she looked up, the hallway was empty. 

“Fuck,” she cursed under her breath. She didn’t wait a second and started running around. She had absolutely no idea where she went, so Tori just ran around the school, turning random corners, in hopes of finding her. 

After about an hour of running, she finally spotted Regan in the distance. She was walking away from somewhere and there were red splotches on her shirt. 

Tori was faced with the decision, look for what she was walking away from or follow Regan to see where she was going. She groaned and ruffled her hair at the crossroad. In the spur of the moment she decided to follow Regan. 

Though her thinking time seemed to put her at a disadvantage. Regan was far away already and she wasn’t able to follow every direction. 

She was lost once again. Regan was slick for someone so fucking big. Tori was about to give up when she noticed Kodya walking away from the same place Regan was. His shirt was also stained with red. It was much less than Regan’s. Tori was much further than she was earlier, but she was almost sure that it was blood. 

On the completely other side, she saw Regan making a beeline for the bathrooms. Faced again with yet another decision, Tori went with her gut and followed Regan. 

Tori knew she wouldn’t be able to hide inside a room full of mirrors. She stayed by the doorway and observed quietly. The other seemed to be preoccupied anyways with making a clean getaway. 

Suddenly Tori noticed she wasn’t just washing off her hands. Under the running water, Tori noticed bloody knuckle braces. 

“Holy shit.” Tori’s eyes widened. She knew her fair share of weaponry and those hurt so badly. She noticed the tips were sharp enough to cut skin. Luckily they weren’t long enough to cut deep and cause severe damage. Though they were more than enough to inflict a world of pain. She was pretty sure it was against the rules to have that in a school. Hell, Tori was pretty sure that using those on anyone was illegal. 

She brought out her phone and opened the camera. She zoomed it in and snapped a few pictures. When she checked them she realized they were too blurry to be recognizable. 

She was about to try and get closer when suddenly Regan jerked her head and looked back. Tori quickly hid on the other side of the wall. 

Regan sped up and was more wary then before that someone may be watching her. Tori knew that staying would just be a suicide mission. When she heard the water turn on again she made a clean escape. 

As she ran away she thought about what she had seen. She decided to check up on that place where Regan and Kodya walked away from to see if she could get any clues. 

There all she saw were several smudged bloodstains on the floor. She looked around and no one was close by. 

As she walked back to her room she thought about all that she had discovered. She was sure more than ever that Regan was up to no good. She then realized that Kodya too was seen in the crime scene. His intentions were unclear so Tori knew she couldn’t trust him anymore. 

The redhead narrowed her eyes and walked purposely. She swore that she’d expose the truth, no matter who it’ll ruin. 

—————

Luckily for Kodya and Gyrus, they both had a free day. They didn’t have any classes or meet ups scheduled which meant they could sleep in. The timing was perfect since they both slept so late. 

They got home late and Kodya cooked Gyrus an amazing dinner and helped him take a shower. Then he patched up his wounds with the same gentle and loving way he always did. After he was sure that his body was okay, he made sure that Gyrus was okay emotionally. He asked him countless questions about what happened to him so he could do research and try and help. 

When 2 AM rolled around Gyrus had fallen asleep. Kodya smiled down at his sleeping figure and gently kissed his forehead. 

After that Kodya still had so much more to do. He hand washed Gyrus’s clothes so the blood wouldn’t stain and cleaned himself up. He washed the dishes and got started on studying for his test the next day. 

He was starting to freak out at the amount of work he had to do. He would’ve had a mental breakdown then and there, but he stopped himself since he didn’t want to wake the other up.

It was getting hard to study because he couldn’t shake off what just happened. When he cleaned Gyrus’s wounds he noticed they were different. Usually his body would just be covered in bruises and minimal cuts. The bleeding would only come from his lips or mouth. 

Though this time, his whole stomach was covered in cuts. It was horrifying and it looked painful as fuck. Kodya’s heart dropped at the memory. It ripped him apart inside to see Gyrus’s perfect body be so damaged. It was hard to clean most cuts because they wouldn’t stop bleeding. His shirt was stained and the image of the way he looked, unconscious and bleeding on the floor, made Kodya’s world shake. 

He couldn’t deny that something was different this time. He could only assume that Gyrus’s tormentor was starting to get creative. There was no way they could’ve done this all with their bare hands. 

To ease his mind a bit, he decided to do research on what happened to Gyrus when he somehow lost consciousness. 

After a while, the closest thing he could find was ‘dissociation’. It well described how Gyrus was disconnected from his thoughts, feelings, memories and surroundings. Though it didn’t seem like anything too bad and more of a defense mechanism, Kodya was still worried for him. 

He must’ve gone through so much trauma for this to happen. He hated himself for not being able to do anything. 

Wallowing in pain wouldn’t help any of them right now so he decided to close his phone and get back to work. 

At about 5 AM he was on the verge of collapsing when he stood up to get a snack. Gyrus had put a copy of their schedules on the door of the fridge so he wasted his time reading it while he thought of what to eat. Suddenly he realized that tomorrow was his free day. 

He wanted to pass out on the spot. 

He was half relieved that he wasn’t going to fail all these tests, but he was also stressed because he wasted all that time preparing for nothing. At least he was already ready for the tests and he didn’t need to review tomorrow. He could focus more on the song. 

He finally let himself go and his sight blurred as he crawled into bed. 

That’s how Gyrus woke up with head buried in Kodya’s chest and the other’s arms wrapped around him. 

Oddly enough he wasn’t alarmed or uncomfortable. They’ve been living together for a long time already and Gyrus was starting to enjoy their cuddles. Though the bed was a little too small for two boys. 

_ I wonder if Kodya would agree to push our beds together.  _ He said to himself and blushed red. He looked up at Kodya and let himself stare shamelessly.  _ I mean we always end up like this anyways and I don’t exactly, you know, hate it. _

He looked over at the digital clock and saw that it was already 3 PM. 

_ Damn I must’ve really been tired.  _ He chuckled bitterly at the hazy memories of last night. Though he didn’t want to think about that now. 

Instead he focused on pulling Kodya closer. His body was warm and he made Gyrus feel safe. He was wearing Kodya’s blue shirt and it smelled just like him. He pressed his face into his chest and greedily inhaled and relished in the scent that was Kodya. He could feel his heartbeat as he clutched on tightly to his shirt. 

The room was silent save for their steady breathing. Gyrus’s thoughts took the opportunity to fill the air instead. Every idea that he struggled to push away came back to him over again. 

_ Why did Kodya sleep in my bed? His is right there. Isn’t that more comfortable? There’s so much more space.  _

_ What is he doing? What’re we doing? No one’s around. We can drop the act. We don’t need to keep acting like this. Kodya’s is just my boyfriend for show. It’s not like all those breakfasts and morning kisses, all those cuddles and all those little touches make a difference. People don’t see those. So why do they matter? Why does he keep doing them?  _

_ I guess it’s because we’re friends and it’s normal for friends to be close.  _

_ But is that what it really is? It doesn’t feel like it.  _

_ It’s unsettling that there’s no difference in the way we act in front of everyone and when we’re alone. It’s either none of it is an act or Kodya is just pretending 24/7. It doesn’t make any sense though. Why would he need to pretend while we’re alone. Why is he doing this?!  _

He looked up at Kodya again. His hair wasn’t in a ponytail so it flowed beautifully and framed his handsome face. Gyrus took his hand from his waist and lifted it up. Gently, he intertwined their fingers. His skin was a few shades darker than Gyrus’s. His hand was a bit rough, but it made him feel loved and warm nonetheless. 

_ Why am I doing this?! I hate holding hands with anyone. Well I hate physical affection and popularity and yet here I am, tangled up in the arms of our school’s social king.  _

He sighed and moved up so that his head was lying right beside Kodya’s 

_ What the fuck are you doing to me Kodya Karevic?  _

Though when those beautiful hazel eyes fluttered open and met Gyrus’s purple ones, all of his previous thoughts flew out the window. 

“Good morning.” Kodya’s morning voice was rich and addictive like chocolate. His lips curved into a groggy smile. 

“It’s 3 PM idiot,” Gyrus teased. 

Kodya didn’t seem fazed. He just hummed and snuggled closer. 

“Didn’t you hear me?” He chuckled. “It’s already the afternoon. It’s time to get up.” 

Kodya groaned and shifted closer. “No.” 

“Lazy ass,” Gyrus said, but he didn’t make any move to escape from his tight embrace. 

Eventually they both got too hungry to ignore and Kodya finally let go so he could make them some food. 

“What’re you in the mood for?” Kodya asked him as he stretched. 

Gyrus sat up on the bed in front of him. “Hmm well I always love your pancakes.” 

“That’s not lunch food.” 

“Fuck you, it’s not lunch is it? Either way pancakes are an all time food.”

Kodya chuckled fondly at him and got to work. 

—————

The sun was about to disappear and the dishes were clean. The two were sitting on Kodya’s bed. Gyrus’s notes were scattered all over the bedsheets. They were already done with that, but they felt too lazy to clean up. 

Gyrus was leaning on the wall and his legs were folded. He was looking over at the other fondly. 

Kodya was shyly hiding his face behind the paper with the lyrics as he tried singing the song. He was somewhat insecure and he didn’t know how to feel about his voice. He tried his best to keep it quiet so Gyrus would notice less imperfections. 

Once he was done he finally looked at the other. “Okay be honestly, but gentle. I don’t know how to sing.” 

Gyrus threw his eraser at him. “Fuck you!” 

Kodya jumped at the flying object, but it hit him square in the face. “Hey! What did I do this time?” 

“Can you stop being good at everything for one second?  _ God _ you’re so perfect it’s annoying,” Gyrus pouted. 

“I’m good?” 

“Yes you’re  _ very _ good,” he chuckled, “you’re pretty natural at carrying a tune and your voice has a nice full quality, but you need to make your voice louder. Take all the shamelessness you have inside and use that!” 

“I’ll have you know that I’m very shy,” Kodya said. 

“Says the guy who screams to get my attention from across a crowded hallway.” 

“Fine you got me there,” he said and they both laughed. 

“Now,” Gyrus shifted and sat in front of him, “I want you to be less ashamed okay? I know you’re probably gonna get conscious singing in front of people, but right now it’s just us here.” 

Gyrus leaned forward and held onto both his hands. “You don’t need to be afraid to make mistakes around me. I’m always here to help you, okay? No judgment!” 

Kodya nodded gently as his words filled him with warmth like hot chocolate. 

“Plus, I really like your voice.” Gyrus shyly looked away. 

They took a while to just enjoy the other’s presence before Kodya tried singing again. 

Gyrus looked at him in such awe and adoration that his fear slowly melted away. His voice filled the room and he even started trying to experiment with some lines. Gyrus would give comments and compliments from time to time and Kodya couldn’t stop the smile on his lips anymore. 

“No you’re singing this one part wrong. It’s like:  _ It's everything you ever want. It's everything you ever need. And it's here right in front of you, _ ” Gyrus sang. 

Kodya was honestly amazed because his voice was so beautiful to his ears. It was a bit softer and less effort was put into projecting, but it was so sweet that Kodya felt like he was listening to an angel. 

“Got it?” Gyrus asked, snapping him out of his daydream. 

He tried singing it only for Gyrus to tell him he was wrong again. (He definitely did not mess up on purpose so he could hear him sing again.) 

“Sing it with me,” Kodya nodded. 

“ _ It's everything you ever want. It's everything you ever need,”  _ they sang together as they looked into each other’s eyes. 

“ _ And it's here right in front of you _ .” 

“There!” Gyrus smiled proudly, “you’ve got it.”

“Thanks for your help,” he smiled, “I love your voice.” 

“Didn’t your parents ever teach you not to lie?” 

Kodya laughed. “But seriously, it’s really pretty.” 

Gyrus blushed red and looked away for a quick second. 

Kodya took the time to stare at him. His hair had grown a bit longer and he looked very handsome in his shirt. The sun was completely gone and the gentle glow from Gyrus’s fairy lights reflected on his skin making him look even more ethereal. The pink shade dusted on his cheeks melted Kodya’s heart. It made him feel even happier that he was the reason for that adorable reaction and that breathtaking smile. 

Gyrus was like a shooting star. He was so bright and burning, though not that many people got to see that. Kodya was lucky enough to be able to have that beautiful light right in front of him. 

Gyrus was truly just so amazing. He was the first person that never really expected anything from Kodya. Though he still believed in his stereotype, he managed to still make him feel enough. Gyrus would tease him and make fun of him, but somehow he also made Kodya feel better about himself then ever. 

Gyrus felt real. There was so much that no one knew about Kodya, but it somewhat felt like he could see past his walls. Somehow it felt like Gyrus knew him more than he knew himself. It was terrifyingly beautiful. 

Gyrus was his best friend. 

The boy running through his head looked up at him through his eyelashes and laughed. 

In that moment Kodya’s heart skipped a beat and he realized something that he should’ve a long ago. 

_ He’d be a fool not to love Gyrus.  _

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if it isn't clear Tori is the lesbian James Bond HAHAHAH stan Tori pls like she's so awesome 
> 
> OKAY I just wanna let y'all know I've been waiting to write this part since the story idea came to my head. The song Perfume inspired this book a lot and I hope I captured the right vibe of the moment Kodya realizes he's in love!
> 
> Also who do y'all ship with Tori I'm so conflicted. She doesn't need to end up with anyone but its possible. What do you think?? 
> 
> Hope everyone has an amazing day ~ UwU


	9. Oh How The Turns Have Tabled

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "The Greatest Show" from the musical "The Greatest Showman"   
> "everything i wanted" by Billie Eilish

In the wake of Kodya’s newest realization came so much clarity and confusion. He spent too much time denying his feelings for Gyrus that they came exploding in him all at once. 

First of course came the joy. He was in love! All he wanted to do was shout it from the rooftops and let everyone know that Kodya had finally stopped being stupid and that he was in love with the most caring, funny, smart and amazing man ever. His heart felt so full to the brim. He wanted to pull Gyrus into a passionate kiss and confess right then and there. 

Then he realized he couldn’t, so came the bad parts. He realized the big possibility that his emotions weren’t reciprocated. The mere thought of Gyrus not loving him back made it feel like his world would collapse. He didn’t ever want to stop being his boyfriend. Though he wanted more, to be his  _ real _ boyfriend. The bitter reality that Gyrus was only his fake boyfriend made his once full heart churn. 

Then he realized that his feelings could ruin their friendship. Gyrus could end up hating him for feeling this way. 

Finally, all the bliss of falling in love seemed to disappear as the woes overpowered it. 

Though the warmth in his body never seemed to leave. His aching heart still fluttered happily whenever he thought of Gyrus.

All of his contradictions were driving him crazy. 

Luckily for him, the school bell finally rang. He soon realized that it was the day of his audition. He hurriedly stuffed all his things into his bag and bolted out the door. The clock read 3:23 and he was worried that he’d be late. 

When he got to the large theater he was filled with so much excitement and fear. Nothing had ever made him feel so giddy before. This shouldn’t matter too much since he was only doing it for his grade, but for some reason he really wanted to do his best. 

He took a seat in the front next to Tori. Though she seemed to shift away from him. It was very strange, but he had other things to worry about at the moment. 

Maria stood up and took charge like usual. “Okay everyone, it’s audition day! As I said last time, everyone’s going to perform one by one and after that we’re all going to anonymously vote for who gets what role. We’re going to be finalizing and announcing the roles today too. If you have a preferred role please state it before you perform. Everything clear?” 

They all nodded. 

“Okay,” she smiled, “let’s get started. First, Alistar.” 

She took a seat in the middle and let him get ready with his performance. 

He was pretty good. His facial expressions were on point and he had a big presence for such a small boy. 

Kodya nervously fiddled with his lyrics as he tried to calm his nerves. He didn’t know why he was so nervous. He and Gyrus had gone over this so many times in the past few days. They even worked on choreography and Gyrus helped him get in character properly. 

Despite all of his preparations, he still felt like everything could go wrong. 

_ “Oh and you can dance too!” Gyrus said incredulously as he threw his hands up in the air. “Just be god, why don’t ya?”  _

_ Kodya laughed at his sass fondly. “So it was good?”  _

_ “You’re naturally graceful. It was very good. All you need to do is improve the steps. Like try and mimic the ones from the video.”  _

_ “But they’re so hard!” He whined.  _

_ “Do you wanna do well or not?”  _

_ He pouted. “But you need to learn it with me!”  _

_ “Hey this is your problem not mine. Be thankful I’m even helping.”  _

_ “Please!” Kodya begged. “It’ll be really fun to not do it alone.”  _

_ Gyrus huffed. “Fine.”  _

_ They spent a while learning steps and forming a choreography. They would laugh every so often when they’d mess up a step. The atmosphere was light and it was much better to do it together.  _

Kodya smiled to himself at the memory of their practice. 

_ “You can do this Kodya,” Gyrus smiled as he ruffled his hair, “you’re amazing.”  _

His encouraging words rang through Kodya’s mind and he used all of that to build up his confidence and silence his fear. 

Knox had just finished up his performance. He was pretty good at dancing, though his voice was a bit monotonous, like a robot. Maria was very good at dancing and she had a beautiful voice. Bronzo had a deep voice and a nice stage presence. He was a good actor too. Vela had a powerful and smooth high voice. His friend Elle was in this group too. Kodya felt like she would make the perfect PT if she didn’t state beforehand that she’s trying for the role of Charity. 

Next it was Tori then Kodya. 

When Tori got to the center of the stage all eyes were on her. She had the audience captivated from the moment she opened her mouth. She had a strong and big presence on the stage and her voice was very full and beautiful. 

Kodya hadn’t expected her to be  _ that _ good. 

Once her audition was done they all clapped for her. It was going to be hard to follow that up. Kodya nervously stood and walked up on the stage. “I don’t have a preferred role. Any is fine with me.”

He got into position and the music started playing. 

“ _ Ladies and gents, this is the moment you've waited for _ ,” he sang with his back facing them. His silhouette very much resembled that of PT Barnum in the musical. 

He went on to turn and move around the stage just like practiced. He slowly let his voice escalate and tried to not notice everyone’s gazes on him. 

He finally looked them in the eyes and held his hand out. “ _ So tell me do you wanna go _ ?!” 

The music picked up as he went into his well rehearsed choreography. His body mindlessly moved to the beat as his voice filled the auditorium. 

In that moment he felt so alive. Even if the theater was empty he could practically feel the spotlight shining on him. He couldn’t stop his smile as he danced, sang and slowly fell into the role. His presence filled the room and no one could stop their eyes from following his every move. 

“ _ It's everything you ever want. It's everything you ever need. And it's here right in front of you. _ ” As he sang these lines Gyrus’s gentle voice and his beautiful smile flashed through his mind making him feel even more euphoric. 

“ _ This is where you wanna be.”  _

With one perfectly mastered dazed look, the song ended. He stayed in position for a while and tried to catch his breath after that whole routine. 

Before he could move to sit down they all clapped for him. Even if it was just common courtesy Kodya couldn’t help but feel so happy that he got a positive response. It was so indescribably fulfilling. 

After all the auditions they had to fill in a form about who they thought should play what role. When they finished they all passed it to Maria for tallying. 

“Everyone,” Maria smiled with her signature toothpick sticking out of her mouth. “The results are in!” 

They were all at the edge of their seats to know the cast list. 

“Everyone almost had the same answers. Let’s start.” 

“Lettie Lutz or the bearded lady will be played by Tori.” 

They all applauded. Honestly it was a perfect fit. Only someone with a powerful and show stopping voice like Tori would be able to do “This Is Me”, her solo song, justice. 

“Charles Stratton, General Tom Thumb, will be played by Alistar. Anne Wheeler will be played by me and W.D. Wheeler will be played by Knox. Charity Barnum will be played by Elle. Jenny Lind will be played by Vela. Philip Carlyle will be played by Bronzo.” 

She went on to announce more of the roles and explained that there will be doubles. 

“And finally PT Barnum, our leading man will be—“ she smirked as she pointed at Knox, who drummed on his seat for an extra effect— “Kodya!” 

Kodya’s eyes widened for a second as they all started clapping for him. He was super happy, super confused and super shy. His face flushed red as they all congratulated him and he tried to thank them all. 

“I can see the look in your eyes boy. Yes, you’re the lead role,” Maria chuckled as she teased him. “You’re captivating, charming and talented, everything we need for PT.” 

“How come you’re complimenting him so much,” Alistar joked, “you never compliment me.” 

“I’m only telling the truth to make him calm down. Look at him, he looks like a lost puppy.” She sassed back. 

Their bickering and chatter tuned out as Kodya took time to relish in the feeling.  _ I got the role.  _ It still felt like a dream to him. He wasn’t even vying for the main role, he honestly thought the best he could do was a background character. Though he somehow felt more achieved then he ever did. It felt different from all those wins in football or all those academic rewards, a good different. 

A small smile spread across his face and he was so fucking excited for rehearsal. 

—————

The campus was dark and football practice had long ended. Thoughts raced through Kodya’s head as he tried to outrun them. His timer told him that his workout was already done, but he ignored it. He had just gotten off the phone with his father. He couldn’t recall most of it. It was just a blur of the same things. 

“ _ Do better. _ ” 

“ _ It’s not good enough. _ ” 

“ _ Push yourself. _ ” 

“ _ Work harder. _ ” 

“ _ Don’t be a disappointment. _ ” 

Those cruel words echoed in his mind and filled his ears. He could barely hear the sound of his too rapid heartbeat and shallow breathing over them.

He wanted to scream, but his throat was dry. He wanted to cry, but his eyes were burning. He didn’t know what else to do but run. 

_ Nothing will ever be good enough? Will it?  _ He thought bitterly.  _ I’ll never be good enough.  _

Kodya was doing his best. Everyday he was put under the crushing pressure that his parents, the school and everyone in the goddamn universe put on him. Everyday he did his best to be who they all wanted him to be, but everyone always wanted more. All he wanted was to not let anyone down. Though it seemed like no matter what he did he would disappoint. 

All their expectations suffocated him more than his endless running ever could. 

He was just so  _ tired.  _ He just wanted it to stop. He wanted all the pressure and all the expectations to stop. He just wanted to rest. He wanted to be able to be himself and do something that actually made him happy. 

Though it seemed like Kodya had bitten off more than he could chew. As he tried his best to do what everyone asked him to, he’s failed at doing what truly made him happy. 

His emotions and lack of oxygen were catching up to him. His legs wobbled as he finally slowed down. When he reached a full stop his eyes were burning and there was a ringing in his ears. 

His whole world was spinning and his lungs were on fire. He felt too much. 

He couldn’t recognize his surroundings. To be fair, his vision and his consciousness were still a bit blurry. All around him were trees and he could vaguely see the buildings of the school. There were still a handful of students walking around nearby. 

_ “Make it stop,”  _ he sobbed and begged to no one. His legs were giving out so he pressed his body onto a tree. “ _ I just want it to stop. _ ” 

In the wake of all these emotions, his body seemed to act on its own. He pushed himself off the tree and stood in front of it. He just needed something, anything, to numb the voices in his head. He pulled his fisted hand back and mustered what was left of his strength. 

_ CRACK _ . A loud sound resonated through the once peaceful night along with a loud thud and a hoarse scream. 

The people nearby were altered and ran into the mini school garden to find the source. 

“Kodya?” Feather said in confusion and concern as she stared at her friend. He was leaning against a tree with a dent in it and his hand was shaking. Tears pricked at the corner of his eyes and he was desperately trying to calm down. 

The boy was in so much pain that he didn’t have the words to describe it in that moment. The throbbing in his head matched the throbbing in his hand and everything was mixing together. It felt like he was being ripped apart from the inside. He was slowly starting to feel a panic attack come on and he didn’t know how to make it stop. 

“His hand! He’s injured!” A student said. A few of the other students decided to leave to call professional help and the rest of them moved to help Kodya sit down and tried to get him to relax. No one understood what was going on, but it was very clear that someone needed help so they did all they could. Everyone was running around and trying to do anything. 

Though Feather didn’t move. As her friend slowly fell apart she just stood there, stunned and confused. 

—————

After five minutes of constant struggling, Kodya finally inserted the key into the lock and pushed the door of their room open. 

“Where the fuck have you been?” Gyrus jumped up from his seat. It seemed as if he were sitting by the door, waiting for him to come home. “I’ve been worried about you, you dumb—“ 

Suddenly his eyes landed onto the splint wrapped around Kodya’s hand and the sling around his neck, holding it up. 

His face softened and his heart skipped a beat. “What happened?” 

“I pushed myself too hard while running and was so tired that I fell on a tree. Turns out trees aren’t soft,” he chuckled shyly, “well at least we know I’m building up muscle mass! That’s a good thing right?” 

“No!” Gyrus felt so hurt for some reason. His emotions made him feel more pain then he ever felt from any of Regan’s physical torture. “I mean sure muscles, but Kodya you’re hurt.” 

“I’m fine,” Kodya insisted. Funny how the tables have turned. “My hand may be broken, but the doctors said it’ll heal in like three weeks. They even gave me some pain relievers so I feel invincible!” 

“You’re not.” Gyrus said and took a step closer. “You need to stop hurting yourself.  _ Please _ , you don’t need to push yourself that hard. You know that you’re enough, right?” 

Kodya felt a wild technicolor of emotions erupt in him as he heard the words he needed to hear the most. Though he tried to suppress his reaction and play it off. “I appreciate your concern, but I’m not doing this on purpose. It was an honest mistake. I wasn’t trying to get hurt, it was an accident.” 

“You didn't answer my question.” Gyrus stood even closer to him. “You know that you’re enough, right?” 

Kodya couldn’t bring himself to respond. Gyrus instead wrapped his arms around him. He carefully made sure not to hit his broken arm but still be able to press them close together. Kodya just leaned into his touch and let himself finally unravel. 

His body was too exhausted to start trembling, but he felt so vulnerable. Once again he felt every wall that he so carefully built up be effortlessly knocked down by the green haired boy in front of him. He was so scared that Gyrus would be able to see past what he wanted everyone to see. 

Gyrus started gently running his hands through Kodya’s messy hair, and Kodya could’ve sworn he’d fallen deeper in love, if that was even possible. 

“Well since you’re being stubborn,” Gyrus clicked his tongue, “I’ll just have to make sure you know that.” 

Their eyes met again and Kodya could see sparks fly. 

“I got the lead role,” Kodya smiled. It was weak because he was tried, but his true joy was evident. 

“Just like I knew you would.” Gyrus was so happy for him, but he wanted Kodya to stay in this calm and mellow state so he did too. “I’m so proud of you.” 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone say thank you doctors of Quora for answering the google search “can you break your hand if you punch a tree” HAHAHHAHAHHAH but God do I feel so bad for Kodya I really wanna give him a hug :<<


End file.
